Chemicals Collide
by PyroQueenOfFire
Summary: Taylor Fields is part of a family that has plans set in motion for their children that they don't necessarily want to follow. To top it off, Taylor's in love, and hers and Cappie's pasts clash...Cappie/OC; Rusty/OC Friendship
1. So Far So Good

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I had a dream about Cappie last night the idea of it was far too good.**

**So here is a Cappie story that is a little more…it is centered around the Cappie/OC relationship.**

**I mean as much as I love Cappie/Casey, OCs are easier to control and I can make them what I want to make them, and I love Cappie/Max too, so I wanted to write them too.**

**So this is Cappie/OC with friendships, drama, love, romance, angst and comedy.**

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

"You're leaving? Really?" Cappie asked, smiling that adorable smirk of his as he sat up in the bed, his torso fully visible to her.

Taylor smiled at him fondly. "I will be leaving as soon as I find my shirt."

"Come on, I feel used." He whined, pouting and smirking at the same time.

"Cap, I gotta get to class. If I leave Rusty alone for the _third_ morning in a row he's going to disown me as a lab partner." Taylor laughed and tucked her hair behind her ears, frowning a little. "Cap? Did you hide my shirt on purpose maybe?"

Cappie chuckled and shook his head. "No, I didn't, but watching you look for it in your undies is a plus—I wish I _had_ thought of it."

Taylor rolled her eyes as she laughed, brushing her dark brown bangs out of her face and then pulling her hair back in a ponytail in an attempt to make the search for her shirt more manageable. She was glad that she was with Cappie, and she was glad that even though Rebecca and Casey had a beef about it at first, they were supportive of their fellow ZBZ. In fact at first Taylor hadn't even _wanted_ to be a ZBZ, but her mother had been a ZBZ, and her father had been an Omega Chi, and they wanted their children to follow in their footsteps.

"So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Cappie asked her softly.

Taylor smiled at Cappie and put her hands on her hips. "I'm actually glad you asked. I was going to tell you the plans over our frozen yogurt date tonight, but since you asked, you need to pack some bags because Mom and Dad want to meet you. I promise Luke will be nice to you at the house, and the twins wanna see you, so it should be fun. You'll get to meet my puppy, and my friends over there—unless of course…you don't wanna go…"

Lucas Fields was an Omega Chi Active, and the same year as Cappie and Evan. Taylor was two years younger, and the twins, Harry and Jenna, were a year younger than Taylor and _also _bound for Cyprus Rhodes. Cappie pouted a little when Taylor found her shirt, but smiled because unlike his other girlfriends, Taylor _never _hid him from anyone, or belittled who he was. She accepted him and cared about him for who he was, and she was proud of him all the time, and it kind of made him glow. There had been no exchange of 'I love you's, but the two were incredibly fond of each other, and Cappie wanted to meet her parents—he was touched that she wanted him to since he'd never actually been taken _to _ meet any parents in the past.

"Of course I'm coming." Cappie told her, getting out of the bed and frowning when she held her hands up and shook her head as he came towards her. "What now?"

Taylor smiled a little and found her shirt, pulling it on and buttoning it up. "If you touch me, we'll end up in bed again and I have to go meet up with Rus. Sorry. Tonight though? We still doing frozen—Cap!"

"You are not leaving this room without a 'goodbye' kiss, Tay." Cappie told her, stepping closer to her as she took a step back. "Am I really _that_ irresistible?"

"Um…yes!" Taylor exclaimed, but smiled a little and stood her ground as Cappie made his way over to her and kissed her.

His lips were soft and warm, and she whimpered a little when he bit her bottom lip and pushed on his naked chest, looking him in the eye and shaking her head. She _had_ to be there for her bff, and she to be there for him to do a science lab that morning. At the same time, Cappie was pouting, and his hair was mussed and she _loved_ that, so how could she possibly just walk away from him?

"Do you have to smell so damn good?" Taylor asked, and kissed Cappie again, giggling when he pulled her back down on the bed.

xx

Taylor brushed her hair and then hurriedly covered up her new hickie, heading straight for class and sitting next to Rusty who shook his head and shot her a look. She was only a couple of minutes late, and the professor was late too so the professor would never know, but Rusty had hoped she was taking the class seriously. He knew she got rather distracted by Cappie when she slept over at the KT House, but it was starting to affect her schoolwork and Rusty was worried about her.

"Nice to see you actually made it this time." Rusty told her.

Taylor blushed a little. "I'm _so_ sorry, Rus—can I make it up to you?"

"I think there's a possibility." Rusty replied. "You can study with me tonight."

"I had a date with Cap tonight…but I can cancel." Taylor said slowly.

Rusty smiled at her and shook his head—he wanted to study with her, but at the same time he didn't want to make her cancel her date with Cappie. Cappie and Taylor made each other _very_ happy, and the only people not so happy about the union were Lucas and Taylor's father, but Taylor wasn't one of those girls that felt like she had to have approval. Cappie made her feel good, and so she was pretty much going to do what it was that she wanted and not what her father thought she should do.

One of the reasons Rusty had befriended Taylor in the first place, was because she had her own mind, and she used it. She was focused, and she was driven, and above all else, she just wanted to be happy and she was doing pretty well with that. It was a little weird for her to spend so much time with the Kappa Taus when her brother was an Omega Chi, but she had dealt with that already and it no longer bothered her.

"You have your date with Cappie, and I'll just—I'll accept that you're happy if you hang out with me and Dale after Thanksgiving Break for a whole weekend." Rusty replied. "I really miss seeing you almost all the time."

Taylor reached out and took Rusty's hand. "I miss you too, Rus."

"Sorry guys—lets get started." The professor explained, coming into the room and hurrying them to start.

They weren't sure why their professor had been late, but they worked diligently and Rusty and Taylor made some dirty jokes about chemicals and science, finishing the class and lagging behind together cleaning up. Some people who didn't know them very well, would swear that they were dating, but the two were simply really close and they enjoyed flirting and making crude jokes. It was just how they interacted and those that knew them well understood, and envied their amazing platonic relationship.

"So you and Cappie are really good?" Rusty asked Taylor as they grabbed their bags and slung them over their shoulders.

Taylor beamed and nodded. "Yeah, we really are. We've made it to a great place, and I'm taking him to meet my parents and my family and my friends over Thanksgiving Break, and I really hope that things work out even better from there. He's a good guy, and he's been hurt before, and it hasn't ruined his character."

"It helps that the physical part of the relationship is going well, doesn't it?" Rusty asked her with a laugh as they headed out of the classroom and ran into Cappie.

"It certainly does." Taylor told him, and waved 'bye' to him as Cappie came over to her with a cup of coffee for her and handed it over, making her grin. "I think I might just keep you."

Cappie chuckled. "I'm glad the vote's in my favor."

xx

"I thought I told you to cover me, Wade!" Taylor exclaimed and then laughed as she tried to move her Halo character away from the open fire. "Don't you dare! Beaver!"

Beaver laughed as he killed her. "That's what you get for trusting Wade."

"Fine, I'm done." Taylor laughed and handed the controller to Cappie who was sitting next to her, his arm around her watching her play with the guys.

Taylor actually spent more time in the Kappa Tau House than she did anywhere else, which was fine with the Kappa Tau brothers because she was fun to be around. As far as they were concerned, she was _nothing_ like her older, uptight, brother, and if her younger siblings were this cool, then they were thoroughly excited for them to come the next year. Besides, they were hoping to get Taylor's younger brother, Harry, to pledge Kappa Tau instead of Omega Chi, and further 'corrupt' the Fields line.

Cappie kissed the top of Taylor's head and then took over for her, smiling as she snuggled up against him and occasionally told him to pay more attention to the players around him and not to the guns and items on the ground. He rolled his eyes at her backseat coaching and eventually handed the controller back over to her and laughed when she sniped Beaver and he got upset. Then after a few more rounds and various mini Halo games such as 'King of the Hill' and 'Capture the Flag', they all split up to do different various activities and Taylor got up to go ahead and leave.

"I can walk you to the ZBZ House." Cappie told her.

Taylor smiled and shook her head. "Actually, I'm going to study in the library for a little while, _then_ swing by the house, and _then_ get ready for you to pick me up for our fun little frozen yogurt date tonight."

"I could walk you to the library then." Cappie offered, resting his hands on her hips and smiling at her as they made eye contact.

"You know, I never really pegged you as a gentleman." Taylor teased, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Plus, this PDA in the 'living room' is kinda tacky, don't you think?"

Cappie made a silly face. "Oh _totally_ tacky."

"You can walk me to the library." Taylor told him, kissing him swiftly and then pulling away and grabbing her book bag.

Cappie smiled at her and nodded, helping her to get it on her shoulder and then walking her out the front door or the Kappa Tau House, reaching his hand down and brushing it against hers. She smiled and slipped her hand into his, their fingers interlacing, and then she leaned against him and bit her lip. There were a few things she needed to talk to him about before Thanksgiving rolled around and this was as good a time as ever since things were going so well, and he was being so attentive.

"Hey, Cap?" Taylor said softly.

Cappie glanced at her. "That sounded slightly serious."

"Yeah, um…try not to mention Dad around Mom, all right?" Taylor told him and sighed loudly. "They're kind of separated right now, and he's out of the house, and it's just a _really_ touchy subject for her. Also, use coasters or she'll go a little crazy on you."

"You didn't tell me your parents were separated." Cappie said, looking at her softly. "Are you all right?"

Taylor smiled at him. "Oh I'm fine trust me—I just want Mom to be able to focus on seeing you for the great guy you are without being distracted by her negative feelings for Dad right now. The house has a little tension in it, which I wish I wasn't bringing you into, but I just really want them all to know you."

"And I appreciate that." Cappie told her genuinely, both of them stopping at the library and Cappie smiling at her. "Now go study and try not to keep me waiting fifteen minutes like last date, all right?"

"I make no promises." Taylor told him with a smile and a playful shrug as she walked backwards slowly. "Oh…and I have a surprise after."

**Note: Right now it's light and fluffy, and it'll be pretty light and fluffy, but there will definitely be secrets, drama and angst, I assure you. Feedback is always appreciated!**


	2. Studying Life

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Thanks to everyone who read and to everyone who reviewed!**

**Here is the next chapter it starts a bit of drama, but still stays pretty fluffy and comedic.**

**=D**

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

Taylor made a face. "Oh, no…"

"You could always come in and find out, Tay." Cappie told her, shrugging his shoulders.

Taylor rolled her eyes and shook her head because no matter _how_ great the date was going, Taylor knew she had to get back to the ZBZ House. Cappie kept pointing at the Kappa Tau House though and doing that pout he was so good at. Every time he made that face, Taylor felt like she was kicking a puppy when she turned him down, but she couldn't say 'yes' this time…could she? No! No, she couldn't.

"Cap, I _have_ to sleep in my own room tonight." Taylor protested, making random whining noises as he kissed her and she responded. "Stop, Cap."

Cappie shook his head and continued to kiss her softly. "No…I know you don't really _want_ me to stop…come upstairs."

"I've slept over two nights in a row, Cap…and I _never_ study over here." Taylor said, wrapping her arms around his neck and then slipping her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer. "God, fine."

"You know, I'm starting to wonder how smart you really are, Tay." Cappie teased, laughing louder when she punched his arm and gave him a look. "Fine, fine—I will _not_ say that again."

Taylor grinned and headed into the Kappa Tau House. "Good boy."

Cappie smiled at her and honestly he couldn't think of a time that he'd been this happy in his life. He'd been in love with and crazy about Casey, and then she'd betrayed him even though he knew he hadn't been as attentive as he should have been. As to Rebecca, she never really treated him well when it counted and all the other girls he'd been with had just been a fun time. Taylor, though? Taylor had a habit of bringing out his best qualities and for _some_ reason, she wanted him as is—she never tried to change him.

"You didn't!" Taylor exclaimed as she opened up the room and smiled at her textbook on the bed and box of pizza. "I think you're the best boyfriend I've ever had."

Cappie gave her a look. "You've dated cheaper guys?"

"Apparently." Taylor laughed, sitting on the bed and opening up the top. "It's even my favorite…only _my_ favorite pizza, isn't _your_ favorite…how am I supposed to _study_ when you're being all romantic, Cap?"

"I'm going to ask you questions from your text and when you get them right, you get rewarded…sound fair?" Cappie asked her.

She smiled at him and nodded. "I think it's _more_ than fair."

Taylor couldn't even put into words how she was feeling right then because honestly Cappie did everything for her she needed. They were still kind of in the 'honeymoon' phase of their relationship, and Taylor didn't want it to end because they'd been friends once, and it was great, but she couldn't imagine life _not_ being Cappie's girlfriend. She handed him her textbook and bit into a piece of pizza, motioning for him to go ahead and read off a question to her.

Cappie smiled at her. "Inside of a nucleus there are…?"

"Seriously?" Taylor asked him, pizza in her mouth.

Cappie smirked and shut the book. "When you talk with food in your mouth, all bets are off, Tay."

Taylor rolled her eyes and swallowed her pizza before speaking again. "I believe I need to _study_."

"Yeah, I understand that." Cappie said nodding, leaning in, his face close to hers. "Just now you have to do it _after_."

xx

Taylor folded her shirts and stuck them in her suitcase, taking a deep breath and trying to figure out how she got them all to fit in the first place. She couldn't remember getting any _new_ clothes really, but then again she could be wrong, and now she had to figure out how to make it all fit so she could go. Lucas was going to pick her up soon and she needed to be ready but no matter _how_ she arranged her clothes, it just wasn't working.

"You almost ready to go?" Ashleigh asked her.

Taylor smiled up at her Big Sister. "Um, almost…for some reason I can't fit everything into my suitcase."

"Don't you have clothes at home? How much do you really have to take?" Ashleigh asked laughing.

"Well actually, to be fair, I think I _have_ found some things I didn't _come_ here with—but I have to keep those. Like Cappie's t-shirt he gave me, and the bear he won me at that carnival." Taylor explained, holding each item up as she spoke about it.

Ashleigh nodded at her and smiled. "Well, can't you leave the bear here? I mean are you going to leave it at home or something? I promise I won't let anything happen to it if you leave it here."

"You're not going home for Thanksgiving?" Taylor asked her.

Ashleigh smiled at her and Taylor started to feel kind of bad for being so happy about everything when Ashleigh could be stuck here. She hadn't really been as close with her sisters as she knew she should have been, and it was starting to take its toll on her conscience. So she just set the bear on the bed and looked at Ashleigh who just smiled at her and shook her head.

"Not what I meant—if you leave it here, I have a place to hide it if you're really worried about it." Ashleigh explained.

Taylor nodded. "Oh, okay—I'm glad you get to see your family for Thanksgiving."

"Me too—I miss them, actually." Ashleigh admitted and then she pointed at Cappie's shirt as Taylor made sure to fit it into her suitcase. "You're really into him, aren't you?"

"Disgustingly so, according to Rusty." Taylor admitted with a laugh and a shrug. "I want to ride up with him, but Lucas _insisted_ that I ride up with him and that Cappie come with us, but Cappie wants to take _his_ car and I just kind of decided to stay out of _all_ of the decision making."

Ashleigh raised her eyebrows. "Doesn't Lucas have a girlfriend of his own that he could take home with him?"

"Lucas is a man of many one-night stands—Hannah was just a phase." Taylor told her with a shrug.

In all honesty, Taylor was pretty certain that the only reason Lucas dumped Hannah was because he was too attached. Whereas Taylor could get attached and could open up easily, Lucas was _far_ more guarded, and he liked his space and his privacy. It kind of hurt Taylor, but she had a feeling that it had to do with his ex-girlfriend, Laurie—the one he still pined after even though he promised that he was over her.

"Lucas is here." Casey said, poking her head in and catching Cappie's shirt in the suitcase as Taylor shut it and zipped it up, composing herself. "He seems like he's in a hurry."

Taylor nodded and pulled on her jacket, smiling at Casey. "Thanks, Case. See you guys after the break."

"Have fun." Casey told her genuinely, nodding as Taylor held the bear to her.

"You guys too." Taylor said waving at them, and then she headed out to Lucas' car.

xx

"If I have to listen to this song _one more_ time." Taylor groaned, pressing her forehead to the window and making a face.

Lucas grinned from the front seat. "You gave up shotgun to sit with your boyfriend so…I get to pick the song."

"But it's on _repeat_!" Taylor exclaimed, smiling a little as Cappie reached over and rested his hand on hers.

"It's a classic song, Tay." Cappie told her with a shrug.

Taylor turned to him and gave him a look. "And I like it, just _not_ on _repeat_!"

Cappie was originally going to take his own car, but it wasn't working so he was riding with Lucas and Taylor and he was entertained. He honestly didn't mind the song on repeat as much as Taylor, and though he didn't like seeing Taylor in such a tiff over it, he was entertained. Mostly, Cappie was just nervous, so he was trying to be accommodating—he was about to spend an entire _weekend_ with Taylor's _family_.

"You know, I'm _this_ close to trying to get Cappie to cave to going at it in the backseat." Taylor told Lucas in a serious voice.

Cappie blushed a little and laughed awkwardly. "You're such a kidder, Tay."

"I'm not kidding." Taylor replied, shaking her head.

"And the song is changing." Lucas replied, picking up his I-Pod and changing the song, Taylor grinning. "I didn't want to test you."

Taylor nodded and pushed her bans out of her eyes. "That was a _very_ smart choice, Luke."

Taylor leaned her head on the window again and hugged her bear to her, Cappie smiling at her and then leaning his head on her since he had picked the middle seat. Taylor smiled a little and rested her hand on his leg, running it up and down his leg, Lucas trying not to think it was sweet. He thought Taylor could do better than Cappie, but at the same time Taylor was happy…Lucas just didn't feel like he could be happy for her—he wanted something _better_ for her.

"Oh! I forgot about the most important thing to remember this weekend!" Taylor exclaimed.

Cappie kissed her head. "Yeah? What is that?"

"If you make fun of old-school Power Rangers at _any_ time this _entire_ weekend, Jenna will kill you in your sleep." Taylor explained.

Cappie started to laugh as Lucas did, but when he realized she was serious, he gave her a look—_really_? Taylor's family _definitely_ had some quirks, but if that was the _most important_ rule, Cappie could get through this weekend with no problems. Besides, he could definitely admire someone into all of the old-school TV shows—he was pretty certain he and Jenna could be friends.

"All right, I promise." Cappie said, nodding.

Taylor smiled and bit her lip. "Good…hey…"

"Yeah?" Cappie asked her.

"I'm _really_ glad you're coming." Taylor told him and she kissed him softly before she leaned her head back on the window.

**Note: Sorry it has been sooo long, but I hope you liked the fluff! Drama comes soon and every 'honeymoon phase' of a relationship has to lighten up eventually…Feedback is always appreciated!**


	3. The Fields Family

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I know it's been forever, but here it is—I'm also going to be updating this more often because I got back on track with it.**

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

"Jenna!" Taylor called after getting out of the car.

They had pulled up and Jenna had almost immediately come running out of the house with her arms open. She had been stuck with Harry and though she loved her twin, she missed the sisterly advice and female company. Taylor held her sister close and kissed the top of her head, pulling back and laughing when Jenna saw Cappie get out on the other side of the car and she nodded approvingly.

"Just as hot as you described—though he could use a haircut." Jenna said and Cappie laughed.

"Just like you described her as." Cappie said, watching as Jenna hugged Lucas close and Harry came out of the house.

Jenna smiled and held her hand out to Cappie. "I'm going to assume she's said nothing but nice things about me because I know far too much about her."

"Well…" Cappie told her sticking his hand out and teetering it from side to side.

"Cappie!" Taylor chastised as she hugged Harry to her. "It's good to see you, Harry. How is school, you guys?"

Harry immediately set in to telling his sister all about his new science class as Jenna gave Taylor a look. The two couldn't be any more different if they tried—Harry _loved_ school and Jenna really wasn't all too fond of it. They were both really smart and they both got exceptional grades, but Jenna liked to have her school-life and her home-life two very separate things. To top it off it was _Thanksgiving Break _—no school talk for Jenna.

"Harry? Why?" Jenna asked him, smiling when he blushed and stopped.

"You must be Cappie." Harry said as he held out his hand for Cappie to shake. "We've heard a lot about you—we believe what Taylor has told us."

Cappie smiled and nodded. "I'm going to hope she's said nice things."

"Oh _only_ nice things about you—I wouldn't say she says nice things about Rebecca though." Jenna said with a shrug and made a face when Taylor closed her eyes and looked away from her and Cappie. "Oh, sorry…my bad."

"No, it's fine—Tay's just protective of me." Cappie told her as he grabbed all of the duffles and pointed to the house. "Where should I put these?"

"I'll show you." Taylor responded taking him by the hand. "Then you can meet my mother."

Cappie nodded and followed Taylor inside her house, looking around in awe. It almost looked bigger inside than outside, and Cappie was suddenly feeling like he didn't fit in here. Even though he and Taylor had so much in common, he felt like she had all of this money and all of this potential and she knew what she wanted and who she wanted to be, and suddenly Cappie just felt so…ridiculous.

"This is my room." Taylor said as they neared a room at the top of the stairs and then opened up her door. "I apologize for the boy band posters—there are just some things I couldn't get rid of when my interests became…_not_ boy bands."

Cappie laughed and shook his head. "We're going to have to cover them."

"Why? Cause you can't make-out with me when the Backstreet Boys are watching us?" Taylor asked as she tossed her duffle onto her bed.

"Something like that…where is _my_ room?" Cappie asked and then he looked completely surprised when she laughed and pointed around the room. "Surely your mother isn't going to let us _sleep_ in here _together_…"

"My mother knows that you and I have sex and though she doesn't condone it, I'm legally an adult and I told her that I wanted you to sleep in my room." Taylor replied shrugging. "We had a whole in depth sex talk about it and about being careful and about not actually having sex in the house even though you get to sleep in my bed and it's all good, I promise."

Cappie chuckled and nodded approvingly, tossing his duffle onto her bed too. "Wow…your mother is the coolest mother ever."

"I certainly like to think so." Taylor responded as Cappie rested his hands on her hips, smirking as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "A whole break where we get to do really what we do at Cyprus Rhodes…sans the sex of course."

Cappie nodded with a playful serious look on his face, wiping it off rather quickly as she kissed him. He kissed her back, incredibly glad that a girl like her had ever even _thought_ to choose a boy like him, slipping his fingers into her hair and cradling her body with his own. He was falling fast and he knew it, but moving _too_ fast would scare her off and he didn't want her to go…he depended on her too much.

"This must be Cappie." A voice said, breaking them apart.

Taylor pulled back from Cappie and grin lit up her face. "Mom!"

Cappie pulled his hands back and watched as Taylor went for her mother, hugging her tightly. Taylor and her mother looked alike and Cappie shook her hand when she offered it, trying hard not to make any stupid jokes. This was Taylor's _mother_…he had to make a good impression so she would like him. Cappie didn't get invited to meet parents and he didn't want this to be a _bad_ first impression—he cared too much about Taylor.

"It's nice to finally put a face to the stories." Mrs. Fields explained to Cappie, a grin on her face. "I hope this weekend gives me a chance to get to know the creative, spontaneous guy Taylor praise so much."

Cappie smiled at her and then smiled at Taylor. "I'll certainly try, Mrs. Fields."

xx

Cappie laughed loudly as he talked to Harry out in the backyard that evening, glad to have helped him and Lucas with grilling. Jenna had insisted on meat of some kind and Taylor was all about that, everyone talking about themselves—even Cappie. He was enjoying this break with Taylor's family and he smiled when she sat on his lap as he sat on the large blanket outside, Jenna at the telescope, Lucas and Mrs. Fields already in bed.

"I have a feeling that these are my only two siblings that like you." Taylor told him, snuggling into his warm body and sipping her hot latte. "Harry is already telling you jokes that _don't_ involve science, and Jenna is letting you see her nerdy side."

Cappie laughed again as Jenna rolled her eyes. "I don't think looking at stars is all that nerdy."

"It is when you're using a telescope." Harry responded he and Taylor bumping fists as Jenna turned to look at them.

"I'm starting to think that being the only one with a girl's name makes me smarter." Jenna teased, Taylor gasping.

"Jenna!" Taylor told her. "Why ya gotta hate?"

Cappie chuckled and placed a kiss behind Taylor's ear as he held her. "It's okay, I think it's sexy."

"That could be taken all sorts of different ways." Harry told Cappie laughing.

The four laughed as Jenna went, 'oh, burn', and then as they began to wind down, Jenna and Harry called it a night. They had had a blast hanging out with Cappie and they were glad he was staying a couple more days, but it was time to sleep. Jenna had a friend coming over the next day for Thanksgiving and Harry was planning on helping his mother to cook…Taylor and Lucas were supposed to be the two that kept their parents distracted long enough so that no fighting would happen.

"Alone at last." Taylor whispered as Jenna and Harry closed the door behind them and headed up to bed. "What in the world could we do out here?"

Cappie made eye contact with her as she turned around in his arms and straddled his lap. "Your mother strictly said no sex."

"Actually, she said I couldn't have sex with you _in my room_." Taylor told him with a playful smirk. "We can have all the sex we want outside as long as we don't disturb anyone."

"Public WooHoo, huh?" Cappie asked with a chuckle, returning the kiss Taylor placed to his lips.

"I love it when you reference games." Taylor responded, pressing her lips to Cappie's again, glad that his hand slipped up into her hair. "We should probably pick a little less public spot, Cap…"

Cappie chuckled and bit her lip softly. "This spot is _too_ public for you?"

"Only a little." Taylor responded laughing.

Cappie laughed as well and they both got up, taking the blanket with them and took it over to the tree outside. There were a couple of bushes around it so the neighbors wouldn't have to see, they were just going to have to be quiet about it. The next day was Thanksgiving and Taylor didn't want her mother any more upset than she was going to be with her mother coming, and this was just the kind of evening she needed to relax…that and it gave Cappie a story to tell when he got back just for his 'man points'.

xx

"Why do you insist on assaulting my eyes with blinding light?" Cappie grunted out that morning when Taylor opened up the curtains.

She smiled at him and laughed. "Would you have rather me woken you up a sweet, slightly dirtier way?"

"Well, yeah." Cappie responded without skipping a beat, his disgruntled look quickly becoming a smile. "So your father shows today?"

"Yes, so you have to be clothed—as much as that pains me to say." Taylor explained as she crawled onto the bed with him, already dressed, kissing him softly. "Thank you for everything you did last night."

"And thank you." Cappie told her kissing her gently. "When does your dad drop by?"

Taylor glanced over at the clock. "In about an hour. Get up, get dressed, Mom has breakfast ready, Jenna says she claims you for setting the table."

"Oh, well if I'm _claimed_." He said, kissing her once more before she got off of the bed and headed out of the room to give him space.

Taylor went straight downstairs and leaned on the counter with Harry, watching as he began to get things ready. Most of the food just needed to be reheated since they didn't go all out for Thanksgiving, but Harry also wanted something else to do—something else to keep his mind off of his father coming. They had been told specifically _not_ to choose sides even though they were all living with their mother, but it was kind of hard _not_ to pick their mother's side…their father had it coming.

"I take it you told Cappie to behave?" Lucas asked Taylor as he made it into the kitchen.

Mrs. Fields gave him a look. "Cappie is a nice young man and you need to stop being so judgemental just because you're in different Fraternities, Luke."

"Besides, Kappa Tau is just as good a house as Omega Chi…you know…people-wise. Omega Chi has a higher percentage of people with good grades." Taylor admitted with a shrug. "But I mean look at Rusty."

"He picked Kappa Tau over Omega Chi…I'll never understand that." Lucas said shaking his head, sitting down to the eggs and waffles.

"Well I'm glad he did—I got to meet Cappie that way." Taylor said happily. "I wish you could meet Rusty, Mom. You should stop by the school sometime and I'll show him off to you."

Mrs. Fields smiled at her. "I'd like that."

"Something smells fantastic." Cappie announced as he walked into the kitchen.

"It also tastes good." Jenna said laughing.

"Aww, the caveman is hungry." Taylor teased, kissing Cappie swiftly and then pushing him towards the kitchen table. "So, uh…Luke and I are taking Dad to the café. You'll be nice to Cap while I'm gone, right?"

Harry laughed and nodded. "Luke won't be here to be impolite, so Cappie is safe."

"Besides…Harry and I are cooler than you and Luke." Jenna replied with a grin as Cappie began eating the breakfast.

"I couldn't just have two kids…no, I had to have _four_." Mrs. Fields teased.

Everyone laughed and then they all settled into a nice family breakfast, Mrs. Fields asking everyone for stories about class and about the houses they lived in. The Greek system was a normality for the Fields household and Harry and Jenna knew that they were almost expected to do just that the next year. They were going to their parents' Alma Mater, and they were going to pledge…but neither of them wanted to.

Harry and Jenna felt like Lucas and Taylor had pledged and they were happy and that was that. Jenna wanted to live in dorms and do parties and not have to deal with the drama that Taylor had to deal with daily and Harry wanted to take extra science classes and get his own apartment. At the same time being part of a Sorority or Fraternity looked good on job applications if the extra curricular activities and the grades were up to par.

"I think I might join Kappa Tau—just to be different." Harry announced after Taylor and Cappie recalled a ZBZ/KT party.

Jenna laughed as Lucas made a face. "You're _already_ different, Harry. At least this way you could be normal."

"You're a nerd too, Jenna—be nice." Harry responded, glancing at Lucas and swallowing.

"If you join Omega Chi, I can you help through all of the stages." Lucas told him with a shrug. "I mean I guess Cappie could show you around…"

"Maybe it would be good for Harry to join Kappa Tau if he so pleased." Taylor said with a smile. "I mean college is about having some time _away_ from your family."

Jenna nodded at that. "Yeah, but _if_ I join a Sorority, I'm joining ZBZ—if I have to be stuck with sorority girls, I need to be stuck with someone somewhat normal."

"Since when is Tay normal?" Cappie asked her.

"Touché." Jenna replied laughing.

Mrs. Fields smiled at them. "Well whatever you decide, it's _your_ choice."

"Try telling Dad that." Harry muttered as he went to take a bite of waffle.

Just as Mrs. Fields opened her mouth to speak there was a knock on the door and then it opened as Lucas and Taylor both hurried up. Mr. Fields was early and he had let himself in, all of the kids trying to figure out what to do next. Cappie didn't know the whole story but he felt the tension in the air and forced a smile when Taylor and Lucas re-entered with their father.

**Note: Okay so the next chapter is like "Thanksgiving Part 2" and then we go back to Cyprus Rhodes cause I miss Rusty like crazy already, haha. Feedback is always appreciated!**


	4. He's What She Wants

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**So here is the next chapter and I really do thoroughly enjoy it!**

**I hope you guys do too!**

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

"So I take it you two are supposed to be distracting me?" Mr. Fields asked Taylor and Lucas as he bought them coffee at the café. "You know your mother and I _can_ play nice, and I haven't even gotten to interrogate your boyfriend, Tay-Bay."

Taylor laughed and rolled her eyes. "I don't _want_ you to 'interrogate' him, but it wouldn't hurt to get to know him. Besides, you're mature enough to see past the fraternity difference."

"Oh, right…he's in Kappa Tau—the slacker house." Mr. Fields responded and he looked at his eldest daughter as she sighed and closed her eyes, shaking her head and heading for a table.

It wasn't that Mr. Fields was judging Cappie solely on his house, but from what he'd heard from Lucas, Cappie was a slacker. He didn't have a set major, he liked to party, and his girlfriends all left him for one reason or another. So as far as Mr. Fields was concerned, Cappie was already an unfit choice for his eldest daughter and yet he knew he owed it to Taylor to get to know Cappie at least.

"What kinds of interests other than girls and parties does this Cappie of yours have?" Mr. Fields offered slowly as he took a seat across from his daughter, Lucas sitting next to Taylor. "Surely he has some redeeming qualities if you're seeing him."

Taylor gave him a look. "You know what? I'm starting to think that Lucas' lack of tact and his arrogance comes from you. Mom invited him into our home, took a chance to get to know him, and she thinks he's a nice young man."

"Yes, but is he driven? Does he have goals? Ambition?" Mr. Fields asked her. "I hear he's sleeping in your room, which is completely unacceptable."

"At least Mom trusts me." Taylor shot at him, looking at Lucas. "Do you honestly tell him everything?"

"He deserves to know—he's our father." Lucas reminded her with a shrug.

Taylor turned to her father after rolling her eyes at her older brother. "You know what? I shouldn't have to defend my boyfriend to you, but I will. Cappie is kind and considerate and smart and loyal and wonderful, and you're judging him without knowing him. You didn't even look directly at him this morning when I introduced you two. You jut looked at his hand, shook it quickly and then started to almost pick a fight with Mom. Actually, on second thought…I'm walking home. Have fun with Lucas."

Mr. Fields started to protest as Lucas told Taylor to stop being a brat, Taylor grabbing her coffee as it had just finished, and then heading out the door into the crisp, morning air. She pulled her jacket tighter around her and tucked her hair behind her ears, looking at the streets going by her as she padded down the sidewalk, determined to get home before her brother and her father. Mrs. Fields surely needed some more help in the kitchen, and Taylor wanted to just wrap her arms around Cappie and tell him how wonderful he was even though he wouldn't know _why_ she wanted to reassure him of that.

When Taylor and Cappie had first met, Taylor knew she was sexually attracted just because she was drawn in by how physically attractive he was. Then she got to know him because she had conflicting reports from the ZBZ House and from Rusty, and she realized how smart and funny he was. Yeah he slacked off quite a bit and he _loved_ parties, but Cappie was his own person and he went after what he wanted. In fact he'd decided pretty early on that Taylor was different and she was worth showing off and when he'd asked her out, she hadn't hesitated in accepting.

The whole ZBZ House had to then get used to the fact that one of the members was dating the ex of not one but _two_ of its members, and Ashleigh and Sierra were the first to be okay with it. Ashleigh was Taylor's Big Sister in the house and she stood by Taylor no matter what, and Sierra had been Taylor's best friend since their first day at Cyprus Rhodes. They roomed together, pledged together, still roomed together, and she couldn't wait to get back to the house and see her—she'd left for Thanksgiving Break early and Taylor just wanted to talk to her.

"I'm back!" Taylor announced as she walked into the house.

Jenna poked her head out of the kitchen. "Oh, no…what happened?"

"Dad's a douche." Taylor responded as she took off her jacket, turning back to her sister only to find Cappie in the doorway to the living room instead. "Hi."

"I think my girl needs a hug." Cappie said playfully, Harry and Jenna smiling and shaking their heads as they looked at their hands—they'd been playing cards with Cappie while Mrs. Fields checked on the turkey every once in a while and heated up the food.

"I think your girl needs something you can't help her with in the house." Taylor responded with a wink.

Cappie chuckled and handed Taylor his hand, pulling her onto his lap as Harry went to see if he could help his mother anymore and Jenna glanced at the coffee table. They were playing 'Rummy' and Cappie was winning, enjoying the game more with Taylor there even though he liked being able to hang out with her siblings so casually. The whole house seemed so much more relaxed without Mr. Fields and though Cappie wanted to know exactly what was up with that, he knew it wasn't his place—Taylor would tell him when Taylor told him.

"I have homework to do on the car ride home—remind me." Taylor said as she drew a card from the deck and looked at her hand, frowning. "I don't _want_ to discard anything."

Jenna laughed and shrugged. "Well that's too bad because you have to. Hurry up."

"Don't rush me." Taylor responded, sticking her tongue out at her sister and then frowning when she heard the front door open. "Luke and Dad are back."

"Awesome." Jenna said unenthusiastically, looking at her sister and sighing softly as Taylor did, plastering a grin on her face when he entered the living room. "Hey, Daddy."

xx

Cappie held Taylor close as they snuggled together that night, trying to sleep since they had to leave in the morning and drive back to Cyprus Rhodes. Dinner had been enjoyable and everyone tried to keep the conversation light, the kids all going to bed early when Mr. and Mrs. Fields began to fight. They were fighting about their children, about work, about the house, about the arrangement, about their children's education—Cappie was still confused, but he stroked Taylor's hair as she thought about the day's events and couldn't sleep.

"We're all pretty sure he cheated on Mom." Taylor said finally, her head on Cappie's chest, listening to his heartbeat as she lay in the crook of his arm. "Since he neither confirmed nor denied, he just ran off to a 'business meeting', Mom kicked him out of the house and we all chose to stay with Mom. No matter how close Lucas is to Dad, we don't condone cheating here."

Cappie nodded slowly and kissed the top of Taylor's head. "I'm sorry about that, Tay. I hope that things work out for the best."

"So do we," Taylor admitted with a small nod, looking up at Cappie and smiling fondly. "Where did you learn to be so wonderful?"

"I don't think your dad thinks I'm all that wonderful." Cappie told her dejectedly.

"I know you really wanted to be accepted by my family, Cap…and you were." Taylor replied, kissing him softly. "I don't care what my dad says. He thinks that he's better than everyone else because he came from a rich family, he had a good education, and he's done well for himself. He's arrogant, and selfish, and if he cheated on my mother, that's just one more reason to be upset with him."

Cappie nodded slowly and cupped Taylor's face, stroking her jaw with his thumb. "You love your dad, Tay…you've had good times with him. He isn't just some workaholic scumbag and _that's_ why you're so upset. Someday, maybe he'll accept me."

"Well you'll be around long enough to make him love you if I have any say in the matter." Taylor responded resolutely with a smile. "I'm so glad you're here, Cap."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else for the holiday." Cappie told her sincerely, kissing her tenderly, making the moment last a minute or two. "I'm going to miss you when you're back to sleeping with Sierra."

Taylor smiled a little at the thought and then kissed her boyfriend softly, pressing her body against his and pulling him close. Cappie didn't mind the movement and let her pull him closer, moaning a little into her mouth as she ran her nails down his shirted torso, and he shook his head. He wanted to, _desperately_, but his and Taylor's relationship wasn't all about sex and she had made her mother a promise—no sex in the house.

"I can't feel you up or have you feel me up when Brian is watching us." Cappie said as Taylor gave him a look.

Taylor raised her eyebrows. "Lance?"

"Isn't that the gay Backstreet Boy?" Cappie asked her.

"No!" Taylor responded, bursting into laughter. "Lance was part of N'Sync. Even though one or more members of the Backstreet Boys _is_ most likely gay…none of them are named Lance."

"Well I'm not supposed to know my guy bands, all right?" Cappie asked her, pushing on her shoulder playfully as she kept laughing. "I don't find this amusing."

Taylor beamed and kissed him swiftly. "Just promise me when we get back to school that there will be some sort of Kappa Tau party, okay? I'm in need of beer pong and drunken Rock Band, and groping my incredibly hot boyfriend in a closet while music blares."

"I think that can be arranged—I _am_ the hot boyfriend, right?" Cappie teased and he chuckled when she kissed him and rolled her eyes.

After a few more kisses, Taylor stroked his hair and then resituated, lying on her side with her back to Cappie. Cappie turned on his side too, bringing her backside close against his front, spooning her lovingly. Neither of them had said 'I love you', but for a moment they both felt like they were on the same page with each other even without the words. They depended on each other and they liked being around each other, even though they knew that eventually their relationship wouldn't be this easy…and they didn't want it to always be easy.

They were aware that every healthy relationship had some conflict and they were looking forward to some—as long as it wasn't too _big_ of a conflict. Taylor wouldn't mind fighting with Cappie because they'd fought in the past and she liked how they were able to get past things, and Cappie was rather looking forward to the make-up sex. In fact the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Taylor was different from the others…she made him feel like he was _worth_ something.

She hadn't left him for his best friend like Casey, nor had she ever used him to her own advantages. While Rebecca also used him, she also didn't treat him well and every time something bad happened at home, she took it out on Cappie. Here Taylor was with family issues and somehow she was able to let Cappie do his thing, do her own thing, and still value him as a human being. She liked to show him off, she stood up for him, and she was _happy_ with the kind of person that he was…it was suddenly then that Cappie realized how lucky he was and he placed a soft kiss behind her ear.

xx

There were some tears shed when Cappie, Lucas and Taylor packed their things up into the car to go back to Cyprus Rhodes. Jenna and Harry were going to have to go back to just the two of them until they graduated, and then the next year they'd be in for quite a bit of fun. It was still the beginning of the year though, and they weren't so happy being without their older siblings no matter how much they had grown to depend on each other.

"Call me when you guys get there, all right?" Mrs. Fields told her two eldest children as she hugged them tightly.

Taylor laughed a little and smiled. "Of course, Mom—we love you."

"You too, Dad." Lucas responded as he hugged his father, aware that Mr. Fields had slept in one of the guest rooms the night before.

"It was really nice meeting you, Cappie." Mrs. Fields told him, hugging him.

Though confused, Cappie embraced her back briefly and decided to add to the list that Taylor had been excited to show him off to her parents. She hadn't tried to embarrass him in any way and had gone out of her way to get them to like him no matter what. It showed him how much she truly cared about him, and it made him feel like he was good enough to get to _meet_ the parents…it was also incredibly new to him.

"You too, Mrs. Fields. Thank you so much for having me." Cappie replied as she pulled back.

Mrs. Fields smiled at him. "Feel free to come back anytime and if you want to steal Taylor away for a holiday or two, feel free."

"I'll remember that." Cappie replied and then nodded as he shook Mr. Fields' hand. "Sir. Thank you."

"Perhaps we'll see more of you, Cappie." Mr. Fields told him with a nod, shaking his hand briefly and then letting go. "Have a safe drive home, all of you."

"We will, Dad." Taylor promised and hugged her father.

No matter how angry at her father that she was, Cappie was right—she loved him and she liked to be close to him when he let her get close. He hugged her and then he pulled back, Cappie, Taylor and Lucas piling into the car. Taylor opted to be in the back again with Cappie, but Lucas wanted Cappie in the passenger seat and Cappie wasn't going to say 'no'. If there was one person in Taylor's family that Cappie felt like he needed to please other than her father, it was Lucas.

Taylor was aware of the maneuver and just let it happen, keeping her ears open to jump in and protect Cappie when she needed to. Eventually the conversation would end up at parties and the fraternities and even though Taylor knew she'd have to talk about these things again, she didn't want to just then. It was the drive back to campus and Taylor just wanted to enjoy the company of her brother and her boyfriend.

"So that was our house." Lucas told Cappie as they hit the highway. "What did you think?"

Cappie glanced at him. "I think you guys live in a very nice house and your family is really nice. You guys are lucky."

"Yes we are." Taylor replied, looking up from her book and reaching up to stroke Cappie's hair from behind his seat. "I'm glad you got along with Harry and Jenna—Mom took quite a liking to you."

"Have you thought about declaring your major?" Lucas asked suddenly.

"Lucas," Taylor warned, shooting him a look.

Lucas glanced at Taylor via his rearview mirror. "I think it's a very relevant question, Tay."

"But it's none of your business, Luke." Taylor responded, Cappie feeling like he should jump in. "Not everyone knows exactly what it is that they want to do. Have you thought that maybe it's undeclared so that he can explore all of his options? So that he can have skills for all sorts of different things? Maybe he wants to be well-versed instead of specialized."

"I change my mind a lot so I left my major open-ended." Cappie told Lucas, knowing it wasn't really a lie.

Cappie had never really wanted to leave Kappa Tau—it was like his home and he felt safe and in control and so he'd never thought to declare anything. He liked that Taylor was standing up for him and coming up with excuses for him to use, but he knew deep down that he wasn't good enough for Taylor. Lucas didn't think so, Mr. Fields didn't think so, and Cappie was starting to think it himself, no matter how much Taylor wanted to be with him.

"How about we talk about something more fun…like Sierra?" Taylor offered as Lucas made that face like he'd made his point.

Lucas laughed a little and shook his head. "Oh, Sierra—Evan will be happy to see her again."

"Of course he will—he _loves_ his girlfriend." Taylor said with a shrug. "You know, I kind of feel like I'm part of like this…love dodecahedron or something."

"You _do_ have a weird place in all these relationships." Cappie admitted as he thought about it.

Cappie had been best friends with Evan Chambers when he came to Cyprus Rhodes, had dated Casey Cartwright, Rusty's older sister, and then lost Casey to Evan. Evan cheated with Rebecca the year that Taylor and Rusty pledged and then later on down the line Rebecca and Cappie dated and then Cappie realized all he could think about was Taylor. Rusty brought her over to the Kappa Tau house all the time and Cappie was smitten.

So Cappie and Rebecca broke things off and little while later Cappie and Taylor started dating, Casey and Evan breaking up and Casey dating Max after a string of bad decisions during hers and Evan's break-up. Around the time Casey started dating Max, Evan and Sierra started dating and since Sierra was Taylor's best _girl_ friend at school, it was like somehow they were involved with all of the relationships.

"I just want to get back to campus to see Rusty and Sierra." Taylor said as she settled back into the car seat. "That and I need a good back to school party."

**Note: And there is that chapter! Lots of school stuff next chapter and some fun drama! Feedback is always appreciated!**


	5. Things Come Crumbling Down

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**So this is mostly about Taylor and her relationships with her friends, as well as some of her relationship with Lucas.**

**There are some new characters in this and I hope that you guys will like it!**

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

Taylor smiled when she made it back into the ZBZ House, tossing her duffel onto her bed and glancing at Sierra's. Sierra was in the middle of unpacking, her clothes all over the place, but Sierra wasn't there. Something had pulled her away in the middle of an unpack and Taylor wanted to know what because she wanted to talk to her best friend.

"Evan, I will see you tonight, I promise." Sierra told him on her cell as she re-entered the room.

Sierra's eyes lit up when she saw Taylor, and she hurriedly got off of the phone with Evan to talk to Taylor. The two girls hugged and jumped up and down a bit, both starting to talk about their vacations as they unpacked their clothes and books. While Taylor had gotten to be with Cappie for Thanksgiving, Sierra had been with her family and Evan with his and they missed each other.

Evan and Cappie were trying to be friends since their girlfriends were so close, but Taylor and Sierra weren't forcing it because they knew their past. Still, the girls were planning a double date out at Dobbler's and a restaurant sometime in the future, they just had to find a way to convince the boys. Cappie and Evan were both stubborn, and as much as they wanted to please their girlfriends, they didn't like to spend so much time together.

"So your family liked Cap then?" Sierra asked Taylor as she finished up putting her clothes into her drawers. "Well, sans your father and your judgmental brother."

Taylor shrugged and sat on her bed. "I don't care what Dad and Luke think. I'm happy with Cappie and no one can tell me anything different."

"Well that's a healthy attitude." Sierra told her happily. "My parents haven't even met Evan yet and they already have all sorts of opinions about him—all good."

"So where are you and Evan going tonight? Dobbler's? Just hanging out at Omega Chi?" Taylor asked Sierra excitedly after laughing at what Sierra had said about her parents.

Sierra was rather close to her parents and knowing the Chambers name kind of made it so that her boyfriend was a perfect choice in her parents' eyes. Taylor envied that—she envied that Sierra's parents would let her date a garbage man if she wanted and yet Taylor's father was picking on Cappie when Cappie _was_ something. Cappie went to college and he loved life and he was a gentleman when he applied himself to be such…so why couldn't Mr. Fields just like him since Taylor did?

"Probably Dobbler's. You and Rusty?" Sierra asked as she sat down next to Taylor.

Taylor laughed and shrugged. "Rusty will call me when he gets in and then we'll prolly hang out with Dale at their apartment."

One of the things that Taylor liked best about Rusty's and Dale's new place was the privacy it offered. There was also the fact that she and Rusty could now hang out just the two of them with none of the other Kappa Taus. As much as they liked hanging out at the KT House, they liked to be by themselves because it gave them more time to catch up and focus on just each other.

"How does Cap feel not getting to see you until the KT Party two nights from now?" Sierra asked, sighing a little when her phone rang. "It's Evan again—I should go meet up with him and we'll talk tonight."

Taylor laughed merrily. "Go talk to your boyfriend—he obviously misses you enough to keep calling and calling. I'll come back tonight and we can stay up all night talking like normal."

"God I'm looking forward to that." Sierra told her with a nod, her blonde hair bouncing as she shot up. "Help me pick out an outfit."

Taylor nodded and watched as Sierra answered her cell phone, telling Evan that she was almost ready to head out. Evan felt like he should pick her up since it was a date, and they were headed out to Dobbler's and then back to his place so Sierra wanted to wear something cute and semi formal, changing her underwear just in case the night ended up a little hot and heavy. Then with a big hug, Sierra was off and Taylor had their room to herself.

It was quiet and Taylor sat back down on her bed, looking up when the door opened, thinking it was Sierra forgetting something. Unfortunately, instead of just leaving her to the silence that would have given her the time to think and then would have eventually been interrupted by a call from Rusty, Rebecca Logan stood in her doorway. Taylor was pretty sure that underneath it all Rebecca wasn't as terrible as she made herself out to be, but so far Rebecca had just been a pain in the ass.

"So it looks like you're back…did you bring Cappie back in one piece or did your Dad that wants better for you scare him off?" Rebecca asked her.

Taylor sighed loudly. "Stings a little, doesn't it, Becs? That Cappie is _my_ boyfriend and that unlike you, I _protect_ him when my father starts to talk about life after college?"

"So it's true, then…your father wants more for you?" Rebecca asked her.

"Is there a point to this conversation?" Taylor asked Rebecca, wishing Rusty would call right then and there.

"I'm just making sure that you're not going to hurt him." Rebecca admitted with a shrug. "I wasn't what he needed and maybe you are. I mean yeah, I wish you weren't, but if you're willing to stand up to your father than maybe you deserve him."

Taylor raised her eyebrows as Rebecca left the room and shut the door behind her, wondering what in the world had just happened. She didn't have that much time to think about it though, because Rusty was calling her cell phone. Knowing that hanging out with her best friend was just moments away she answered the phone merrily.

xx

"RUSTY!" Taylor exclaimed, running right for him when he opened up the door to the apartment.

Taylor had called him when she was on the sidewalk outside, and he had run to the door, flinging it open and seeing her down the path. In an instant she was to him, both of them hugging each other tightly, Dave watching from her perch behind the island counter. Rusty buried his face in the crook of Taylor's neck as she stroked his hair, glad to be back around her best friend even though they'd only been separated a weekend.

"It's like you two haven't seen each other in a year or something—stop letting the heat out." Dale told them.

Taylor laughed and pulled out of the hug with Rusty, walking into the apartment and letting Rusty close the door behind them. She sat down at the island counter and rested her hands on it in a folded position, looking directly at Dale. Then she smiled and he smiled back, knowing that on top of missing Rusty, she'd missed Dale too.

"So…I was thinking I should check up on these Purity Pledge Meetings you guys have…or like your Bible Group if that still meets." Taylor informed him.

Dale rolled his eyes. "Purity Pledge Group? That's a laugh, Tay—I know who you date. However, the Bible Group still meets and maybe we can save you."

"Oh Dale," Taylor told him resting her hands on his, "you're always about saving people and I like that about you—let's just not get too carried away like with the Calvin thing, all right? Speaking of which…where has he been? I haven't talked to him in _so long_ that I'm actually worried that Lucas got to him and now he's on the dark side with all the cookies and the breathing impediments."

"Why don't you make nice with Vader already?" Rusty asked Taylor, referring to Lucas. "Oh, I'm sorry—Vader is too cool a nickname for Luke, right?"

"_Way_ too cool a nickname." Taylor said and then she went to Rusty's and Dale's fridge and opened it up. "Um…no carrots? I came to the wrong place."

Dale started to lecture Taylor about proper guest etiquette as Rusty laughed, grabbing some snacks for him and Taylor and then settling in on the couch. Taylor joined him and snuggled up with him, both of them spending more time talking more to each other than watching the movie while Dale did homework in his room. Then Rusty's phone went off and Taylor sat up to let him get it.

They were both sharing a brown blanket as they sat in the living room, candy and popcorn on the coffee table next to their empty glasses that once held soda in them. Taylor felt a little bad that they had made a bit of a mess, and wiggled her eyebrows as Rusty replied to the text message that he had just gotten. She wouldn't be Taylor if she wasn't just a _little_ bit nosy, so she promptly stuck her nose where it didn't necessarily belong.

"So…who are you sexting, Rus?" Taylor asked him.

Rusty rolled his eyes. "I wasn't _sexting_ anyone…but Calvin is at Dobbler's and he wants to hang out. Do you want to hang out with him and rain check or should we rain check on Calvin instead? I'm honestly up for whatever you want to do, okay? Don't feel like you need to stay just to make _me_ happy."

"I find it funny that we talk about him and suddenly he's all free." Taylor said laughing, shrugging a little bit. "I'm going to leave this one up to you because if we go to Dobbler's, you have to see Evan—he and Sierra are there right now."

"Evan?" Rusty asked, a look crossing over his face.

Taylor was more than aware of the fact that Rusty and Evan didn't get along and though she understood it, it was just another one of those things that hurt her. She wanted Evan and Cappie to be part of her _entire_ life and not just pick and choose what it was that they wanted to be involved in. Cappie didn't have anything against Sierra and yet she was still Evan Chambers' girlfriend, and Evan wasn't really into any part of Taylor's life but Sierra since Taylor hung out with the KTs.

"I choose movie." Rusty said nodding.

Taylor laughed and agreed with him, snuggling up with him again and then after they were done for the night she headed back to the ZBZ House. She wanted so badly to talk to Sierra and when she got there, Sierra was already in her pajamas in her bed and talking to Evan on her cell phone. They had a goodnight ritual and while Sierra was telling her boyfriend that she loved him and she'd see him tomorrow, Taylor was changing into her Batman boxers and tank top.

"You and Evan are almost sickening—okay, that's what I _wish_ I could say but you're _way_ too cute." Taylor said shrugging. "Maybe someday Cap and I will be able to be cute and not disgustingly like all over each other all the time all sappy and horny."

Sierra laughed as she put her closed cell phone on her nightstand. "You can keep some of the sappy and the horny, Tay—don't worry…eventually things will calm down, I promise."

"I'm glad to hear that. So…you love him then?" Taylor asked her. "Isn't it a bit early for that? I mean you haven't been dating even as long as Cappie and I."

"Sometimes you just know." Sierra told her, smiling a little. "I know that sounds completely and utterly stupid and almost like love at first sight, but it isn't really like that. He and I spent a lot of time together, we tell each other everything, and we just kind of click, you know?"

Taylor just nodded as she crawled into bed, Sierra turning out the lamp by the bed and lying there in the dark. She had a feeling that she'd just made Taylor start to think too hard about things and she hadn't meant to do that—she hadn't meant to make Taylor feel like she should be with Cappie where Sierra and Evan were already. Sierra and Taylor both fell for people hard and this wasn't any different.

The difference, was that Taylor was afraid to admit it—and maybe not to herself, but to Cappie. He had been in more relationships than her in the past and interacted romantically with more women than Taylor had interacted romantically with men, and there was a _lot_ riding on that kind of confession. Even if she _did_ love Cappie—which she wasn't sure that she even did—there was no way that she was able to tell _Cappie_ that for fear of him not saying it back because he'd been hurt too much.

"Goodnight, Sierra." Taylor told her, turning so her back was to her friend as she curled up and snuggled into her covers.

Sierra nodded slowly. "Goodnight, Taylor."

xx

Two days without seeing Cappie was one of the hardest things that Taylor had done in the last few weeks. She hadn't expected to miss him so much but she did. Taylor had been doing projects and having class and Mondays and Tuesdays were the days that hers and Cappie classes overlapped so they only saw each other when they met up at night—which Taylor didn't have time to do with projects. So color her incredibly confused when she got out of her lab class and saw her boyfriend standing there waiting for her, a scarf around his neck and his coat on.

"Seriously?" Taylor asked him happily.

Cappie shrugged. "I had some time once I cut class."

"Cap, you can't just cut class for me." Taylor told him, setting her book bag down at his feet and jumping on him, Cappie kissing her hard. "I missed being in these strong arms though…I admit it."

"I keep forgetting that you don't think that cutting class is badass and sexy," Cappie told Taylor, running his fingers through her hair as he stood there, supporting her weight happily and holding her as she kissed him swiftly. "I should have just come right out and told you the truth."

Taylor raised her eyebrows. "Which would be?"

"Professor let us out early to start on our papers." Cappie replied with a shrug. "We have exactly twenty minutes before you have to get to Poli Sci, so let's away to the coffee stand, and once we have coffee I know a place that we can go where no one will have to watch us grope—Lucas!"

"Why would I want to grope, oh my God…" Taylor responded, getting off of Cappie and turning around.

Lucas was standing right there with his book bag slung over his shoulder, giving his sister a look as she picked her own book bag up off of the ground. Cappie adjusted his bag and the three stood there in awkward silence, none of them having talked to each other since Thanksgiving. Out of all of her siblings, Taylor had always loved and looked up to Lucas best…until Lucas became just like her father and then suddenly it was the twins that Taylor admired—it was the twins that did their own thing and suddenly Taylor had wanted to be the role model for _them_ that Lucas had ceased in being for _her_.

"How was your lab?" Lucas asked Taylor, avoiding making eye contact with Cappie.

Taylor nodded slowly. "It was good—we're dissecting next week."

"So what about you, Cappie? What class did you blow off?" Lucas asked him.

"History and we ended early, actually." Cappie explained, trying hard for Taylor's sake not to get into a fight with her brother.

"You're an ass," Taylor told her brother suddenly, Lucas _and_ Cappie surprised that she was getting so worked up about what Lucas had said, "and for your information I only have like 15 minutes until my Poli Sci class and I'm going to spend it with my boyfriend. _His_ company I enjoy."

Lucas shook his head as Taylor took Cappie by the hand and started to leave. "I need to talk to you, Tay."

"It can wait." Taylor responded, starting to walk away.

"It's about Mom and Dad." Lucas said quickly.

Cappie nodded slowly as Taylor stopped and realized that as much as he had missed his girlfriend, he had to let her go right now. He had been counting down the moments until he saw her again that night was a party that she had promised to be at so their reunion would just have to wait. Taylor looked at Cappie and noted the sadness in his eyes, sighing and turning to look at Lucas who was still standing there.

"I need to get back to the KT House anyway to work on the party, so…we'll talk in a bit, Tay." Cappie promised, kissing her cheek swiftly and then leaving.

Taylor looked at Lucas sadly. "Why do you have to be such a major ass to him all the time, Luke? Why?"

"Dad isn't okay with Cappie and he's using it against Mom." Lucas explained to her, shrugging a bit. "Dad thinks that Mom is trying to get back at him by approving of Cappie and I think he's thinking about asking for a divorce."

"Son of a bitch." Taylor said softly, shaking her head and closing her eyes. "I don't get how one man can have so much hate in him—hate that he passed to you. You used to be my role model, Luke…my _role model_. God, I used to want to be just like you because you were my big brother but I don't want that anymore. You make people feel bad just because they're not driven like you and because they aren't in the same fraternity and because they don't have the 'right' connections and because they don't have as much money as you. You're a snob. You and Dad are _both_ snobs and you know what? Mom is better off without Dad as far as I'm concerned…let him do whatever he wants."

Lucas shook his head slowly because touched as he was by her words he was upset with her. She was choosing her boyfriend over her family and their mother might have to suffer because of it. At the same time, everything that Taylor had said had come from her heart and she was really pained to not be able to look up to Lucas anymore and Lucas wished that he could make her think he was worth something again…but wait…he _was_ worth something.

"I'm not going to apologize for being successful and driven and knowing what I want to do with my life, Taylor." Lucas told her softly. "Think about this before you flush our family down the toilet, all right? Stop being so selfish."

Taylor shook her head as Lucas turned and walked away. "I want my big brother back, Luke!"

Taylor felt the tears coming to her eyes as Lucas kept on working, hearing his sister call after him but choosing to ignore her. He'd made his bed and now he was going to lie in it but what was Taylor going to do now? She had a decision to make and a party to go to and for the first time, Taylor decided to skip her Political Science class. She needed to think and she needed coffee and above all else…she needed Cappie.

**Note: And so some drama begins. Next chapter Calvin will be in it and there will be the KT party. Feedback is always appreciated!**


	6. Banding Together

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I love this story a little **_**too**_** much…but here is another chapter.**

**A little drama, a little sex, a little arguing, and a whole **_**lot**_** of bonding. **

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

"My brother is by far the _worst_ brother in the history of all brothers!" Taylor exclaimed as she entered Cappie's room in the KT House. "He's worse than Cain, and Cain—I don't know if you know—killed Abel! I learned that in Sunday School!"

Cappie looked up from his list of things to do for the House and the Pledges that day, surprised to see his girlfriend there. She was supposed to be in her Political Science class, but for some reason she was in his room instead yelling about Lucas. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see her, but Cappie cared enough about Taylor to know that he needed to direct her back to her class.

"You aren't in Poli Sci right now…" Cappie told her as he stood up.

Taylor gave him a look. "Lucas told me that my parents are getting divorced because my mother approves of you and that is apparently 'getting back at my father' because she wants to make him miserable and he _doesn't_ approve. Like my parents are getting divorced because of that. My father is ridiculous, but he's an _adult_—he _has_ to have another reason."

"So…your parents are getting divorced?" Cappie asked her, frowning. "Because of me dating you?"

"My parents are getting divorced because my father is a giant douche bag!" Taylor yelled, throwing her book bag on Cappie's bed and then waving her hands about. "He thinks that _everything_ is about him and it's not! The Earth revolves around the sun and news flash: MY FATHER IS NOT THE SUN!"

Cappie nodded slowly and closed the distance between them, kissing Taylor softly, his mouth covering hers. Taylor was surprised that he knew her so well, and at the same time she really wasn't in the slightest—she and Cappie just seemed to click. Not to mention that she was driven and he wasn't really, but at the same time they got that and accepted it about each other. Taylor didn't care whether or not Cappie knew what he wanted to do for a living—all she wanted was to be with him…they could figure things out later, and right then he was hugging and asking her if she wanted to talk, and she just shook her head.

"You should be in Poli Sci…" Cappie told her, making eye contact with her and stroking her hair. "This is just what Lucas wants—he wants you to stop focusing so that he has one more thing to lord over you."

Taylor nodded slowly, but instead started to take off her shirt. "Right now, I think that I should just be with you…is that all right?"

The question was so soft and sad that Cappie decided he was just going to aid her if that was what she really wanted. He had a couple of questions to ask her first because he knew she'd regret this decision later, but he wanted this. He missed Taylor and she missed him and she knew the train of thought he was deep in and she appreciated so much that he thought of her so much when he could just be focusing all of his attention on getting her naked right then.

"You're missing your class—a class that you _really_ like…is that _really_ what you want?" Cappie asked her.

Taylor sat down on his bed and sighed, looking at her feet and pushing her book bag on the ground. Cappie sat down next to her and kissed her temple, stroking her hair with one hand and stroking her shoulder with the other. She smiled a little and contemplated what she was doing, trying to figure out what she would regret more: missing one class when it was rare for her to miss class even though she could easily make up the work later, or leaving Cappie when she could show him just how much he meant to her.

"I can make up the work later, Cap," Taylor told him softly, looking at him.

Cappie nodded and smirked when Taylor reached out to take his hand and placed it on her leg, kissing him gently. Knowing that Taylor was absolutely determined to do this, Cappie kissed her back, letting Taylor pull him on top of her as she laid back on his bed. They both resituated a bit as Cappie got his pants off, Taylor quickly removing hers, smiling as Cappie started to kiss her again, perfectly happy about how his afternoon was going, and hoping that the party tonight went just as well if not better.

The two focused only on each other for the next little while, and on their skin running along the other's…the sounds the other was making. They were used to this dance, but as Cappie brought Taylor over the edge and then toppled over himself shortly there after, he realized that he loved her…he realized that these feelings that he had for her were more than the feelings he'd even had for Casey. Taylor was realizing it too—realizing that she loved him and how he cared about, protected, looked after and handled her—but neither of them had the courage to say it.

They'd both been screwed over in love in the past, which was part of what bonded them in the first place. The two knew about betrayal and they were part of the Greek system and had similar friends, and the fact that she bonded with the Kappa Taus so fast and took care of Rusty made Cappie want to be with her. Taylor was the girl that wanted to have fun, and she was the girl that Cappie couldn't stand to be away from…but when she was vulnerable about her family right now he couldn't tell her that—it just wasn't the time.

Cappie spooned Taylor, holding her to him and resting his head on hers as her back rested against his chest, the sheet around them. He kissed her temple and she closed her eyes and smiled as he did so, his fingers running along her arm as they just lay there, Cappie wanting Taylor to talk about everything that was bothering her. All he wanted was for Taylor to be the sweet, happy girl that he loved so much…man…that he _loved_…

"Feeling any better, Tay?" Cappie asked her softly.

Taylor smiled a little more, her eyes still closed. "A little…I'm still pissed at Luke and my dad, but I'm good. You always know how to make me feel better."

"Well, I'm just good at sex." Cappie responded with a laugh, laughing louder when Taylor elbowed him playfully.

"You don't give yourself enough credit." She told him.

Cappie rolled his eyes. "I give myself _too much_ credit."

"I meant you don't give yourself enough credit where consoling people is concerned." Taylor responded and Cappie looked at her softly as she turned over in his arms and looked at him, running her knuckles along his chest gently. "Thank you."

Cappie nodded and kissed her tenderly, letting Taylor deepen the kiss and worm her fingers into his hair—he wanted this, and more importantly…_so did she_.

xx

It seemed like every Greek house was having some kind of Back-to-School party, and everyone was kind of mingling with everyone else. There was definitely no regular mixers happening, and Sierra was with the Omega Chis to spend time with Evan while Taylor was at the ZBZ house with Ashleigh because she had lost it. It was like she had _just_ figured out that her parents were splitting up and it was hitting her hard and she wasn't running to Rusty and Cappie like she normally did.

"I'm so sorry to hear about your parents, Tay," Ashleigh told her, stroking her hair and holding her like a good friend. "How can I make you feel better? God knows I can't make the situation better, but I can try to make you smile."

Taylor smiled a little bit. "I don't want you to miss partying, Ash…just go have fun."

"I can't leave you here on your own to cry your eyes out, Tay." Ashleigh responded immediately, shaking her head. "Want me to call someone for you? I can walk you to the Kappa Taus."

"No, no…that's okay. I don't want to burden the boyfriend more than I already have with this today, and I definitely don't want to tell Rusty and ruin his evening." Taylor responded, shaking her head. "I'm really okay, Ash—go have fun."

Ashleigh didn't like leaving Taylor like this, but she left her room and headed straight to go and find Sierra at the Omega Chi party while Rusty looked around for Taylor at Kappa Tau. He had thought she would be there playing Beer Pong with Beaver or groping Cappie in a closet or hanging out with him…but she was nowhere to be found. So, Rusty went to go and find Cappie to see if he knew where Taylor was—Cappie was trying to find Rusty to find out the exact same thing.

"Is Taylor not coming?" Rusty asked Cappie when they met up out in the back, a red cup filled with beer in Cappie's hand.

Cappie made a face. "So she's not here?"

"I haven't found her anywhere." Rusty said, shrugging his shoulders and then noting the look on Cappie's face. "Is something wrong?"

"Her parents are splitting up—she skipped her Poli Sci class today because Lucas dropped the bombshell on her." Cappie explained with a sigh. "I should go and check up on her…"

Rusty took the information in. "Her parents are splitting up?"

"Apparently," Cappie responded, heading for the door to leave and go to the ZBZ house to talk to his girlfriend.

"I'm coming with you." Rusty informed him, watching as Cappie handed Wade his beer and opened up the door.

"I think that she'd appreciate that, Spitter." Cappie said sincerely.

If there was one thing that Cappie knew was important to Taylor, it was her friendship with Rusty. He was really the first friend that she had made when she got to Cyprus Rhode—at least the first male friend. Cappie knew that Taylor had Sierra and that her bond with Sierra was stronger than her bond with anyone else…their bond sometimes made him really jealous. Still, he texted Sierra, hoping that she would stop whatever she was doing and be with Taylor—if she wasn't already with Taylor.

Upon getting a text from Cappie and already being found by Ashleigh, Evan and Sierra had started fighting. It wasn't because Evan didn't get it, it was just that Sierra hadn't been there for very long and now she was just walking out on him. Things had been hard on him lately and here Sierra was, storming out on him, Ashleigh having already left to head back to the ZBZ house.

Evan sighed loudly as Sierra grabbed her coat, hurriedly putting it on and talking the whole while. He was used to this—Sierra getting worked up and storming out—in the next couple of hours he would get a text from her and then they'd call each other and talk it out. In fact, Evan was starting to think that this time _he_ should be the one to apologize to _her_.

"I get that this is a big night for you, and the party is going well and you're the president of Omega Chi and you'd like you're girlfriend here to support you, but right now Taylor needs me, okay?" Sierra asked him. "She was my friend long before you were my boyfriend and if it were me in trouble she'd drop everything and come to my side too."

Evan nodded again. "I know, and I'm sorry I got mad, okay."

"Yeah…I know…I love you, but I'm leaving right now." Sierra responded before turning on her heel and heading out, Evan watching her go and then perking himself up and trying to enjoy the rest of the party.

Sierra went straight for Taylor, smiling a little when she saw Cappie and Rusty just getting there too. They seemed hesitant to interrupt the ZBZ party happening inside, but at the same time, who would really notice them besides Casey or Rebecca? Max was probably there with Casey and maybe Rebecca was too drunk right then to realize that the boys had come in.

"Just follow me, Boys." Sierra told them, opening up the door to the house and going straight up the stairs.

Cappie and Rusty followed straight behind her, Taylor looking up and sitting up from lying on her bed. She hadn't wanted anyone to stop their fun on her behalf, but she knew that Ashleigh had made them come and she smile a little when Sierra got on the bed with her and held her close to her.

"Why aren't you guys having fun?" Taylor asked them.

Cappie sat down next to her and rubbed her back as Sierra stroked her hair. "We can't have fun knowing that you're up here crying by yourself."

"Way to make me sound pathetic," Taylor said, elbowing him playfully and then smiling at Rusty when he handed her a tissue. "I don't deserve you guys."

xx

"You feeling any better today, Taylor?" Rusty asked her as she sat on his bed that morning, waiting for him to grab his things for class.

Taylor forced a smile. "A little, but I really wish this knot in my stomach would go away…and I really want to talk to my brother before I talk to everyone else about what's going on with me right now."

"Yeah, I get it," Rusty told her, and Taylor looked at him when she noted the pain in his voice as he said it.

Taylor shook her head. "No, you don't get it, Rus. You're my best friend and you always will be, but sometimes I just want to talk to my brother."

Rusty nodded slowly, silence falling upon them for a moment and then he swallowed. He hadn't realized that a lump had formed in his throat—he hadn't realized that he was jealous that Taylor would talk to her brother before she talked to him. It didn't make any sense to him because he was her best friend and her brother wasn't always there for her like he used to be.

"Then I remember that I can't lean on Luke anymore and I feel this pressure on my chest and I realize that the only person who can take that pain away completely is _you_…you and Cap." Taylor explained to him, biting her lip as she felt the tears come, her lip quivering. "I count on you, Rus…you're always going to be the first person I run to even if sometimes I think about talking to Luke first. Because you know what? As far as I'm concerned you _are_ my brother."

Rusty was sincerely touched by the words and Taylor smiled a little when he hugged her. He knew that sometimes Cappie was simply there, and he knew that she had only run to him first because she knew that Rusty was in class and Rusty was all right with that. Taylor was his best friend—his sister if anyone should ask—and he just felt so _good_ knowing that she loved him the way that he loved her. Their relationship was platonic and it was beautiful, and so were the feelings that they had for each other.

"I'm so pathetic," Taylor said, her voice choked up.

She had just started to cry even though she hadn't wanted to, and Rusty knew that they were frustrated tears. Taylor hated it when people saw her weaknesses—she didn't like to open up like that even though she invited people into her life so easily and she was so friendly. Rusty pulled back and cupped her face, wiping her tears away with his thumbs, looking her in the eye as she bit her quivering bottom lip in an attempt to hold it together.

"You are _not_ pathetic, Taylor—_never_ let anyone tell you any differently." Rusty said, kissing her forehead and then pulling her close to him again. "Let's skip class and do something."

Taylor shook her head and buried her face in Rusty's neck. "No…I don't want to skip class. I skipped a class already yesterday and I don't need more work to make up."

"Coffee then?" Rusty asked her.

"Coffee then." Taylor responded into the crook of his neck.

Rusty nodded and then took Taylor by the hand after putting his backpack on his back, taking her by the Kappa Tau House right after grabbing her some coffee. Taylor really didn't know what they were doing there, but when Rusty dragged her up to Cappie's room and then opened the door but didn't look in, Taylor smiled a little at him. Rusty really _did_ know her pretty much better than anyone else, and he really just wanted her to be happy no matter what.

"Cap? Wake up and kiss your girlfriend before she goes to class, please." Rusty said, staying outside of Cappie's room and keeping his head faced away just in case Cappie slept naked or something.

Cappie grunted a little. "What?"

He looked up as he felt the weight shift on his bed, Taylor sitting there and setting her coffee on the nightstand. When he cracked open one eye, he saw Taylor looking over his half naked body, nodding approvingly at his boxer shorts, and then he sat up. Taylor laughed a little because he had bed head and she thought it was simply _adorable_, and Cappie noticed that she had cried a little because of the pinkness of her eyes.

"You've got like five minutes—just kiss her better and then send her back out." Rusty told him.

Cappie reached out for Taylor and let her sink into them, kissing the top of head and stroking her hair. She was miserable and he didn't know how to make it better, but he _did_ know that no matter happened right then and there, he was going to make her stay with him that night so he could just hold her. He even smiled a little when she pulled back and kissed him softly.

"You and Rusty are my rocks—thank you." Taylor said sincerely.

Cappie nodded and kissed her again. "You're welcome, Tay. Tonight you're staying here, all right? No sex though, just talking and being together."

"All right…but we're having sex." Taylor responded, kissing him again only longer that time and then getting up and grabbing her coffee, going to the door.

"But I'd feel bad having sex when you're feeling so lousy and you're vulnerable." Cappie admitted to her.

Taylor nodded as she made it to his door and turned to look at him. "Cap? Tonight we're having sex—I'll be feeling much better by that point, I promise."

"Yeah, time for class." Rusty announced, Taylor blushing and Cappie laughing because the conversation now had Rusty uncomfortable.

"See you tonight, Cap." Taylor said, shutting his door and then linking arms with Rusty, feeling a bit better already.

**Note: Taylor just really needed her friends and they all bonded together for her. There's a **_**lot**_** in next chapter but it'll be fun, I promise. Feedback is always appreciated!**


	7. Coming to Terms

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I miss this story so much, you have no idea, guys. So here we are—another chapter! It's longer than the others and I really love where the story is going.**

xxxx

Taylor wasn't exactly the happiest during class, but she sat next to Rusty and that was really all that she needed. He was her best friend and he had taken time out of his day to take her to her boyfriend to try and make her feel better—she owed him a lot. Besides, she rather enjoyed her hard classes and this one was absolutely no exception.

"If you need help studying to make up your Poli Sci work, I can help you out." Rusty told Taylor, smiling at her as she smiled back at him.

Their science teacher had given them some time at the end of class to work on homework and study because they'd all learned the lesson already. Taylor nodded because she could honestly use the help, and she knew that Rusty was still rather happy about her admittance to him about how she loved him like a brother—she had two of those by blood and yet Rusty was just as much her brother as they were…maybe even more so.

"You know, you don't have to just do things for me, Rusty," Taylor said, kissing his cheek swiftly and ignoring that people had seen. "My brothers would never offer to help me with Poli Sci homework."

Rusty laughed a little. "Obviously I'm a much better brother."

"Obviously," Taylor repeated, laughing and then nodding when Rusty started to explain one of the homework problems to her.

She was grateful for him and she knew he knew that, kissing him on the cheek one more time before heading to the Kappa Tau House as Rusty went to try and find Calvin. He, Rusty and Taylor were going to hang out that night, talking about things and catching up while Cappie hung out with the Kappa Taus and Sierra and Evan had another date at Dobbler's. So right now, Taylor wanted to show Cappie just how thankful she really was for him.

He was too busy talking to Wade and Beaver to notice Taylor entering the house and going up to his room, opening up the bottom drawer of his dresser after closing the door behind her. She slept over so often that some of her cutest night clothes were simply stashed in Cappie's room, and she changed into one of the newest pairs and put a fluffy pink robe over it. Sitting on his bed, Taylor just waited, knowing he was going to come up eventually, and also knowing that she had nothing else to do that day—it was one of her slow days.

Because he had Kappa Tau business to attend to, Cappie hadn't gone to meet up with Taylor after class and it was bothering him. The two of them were sometimes overly close in public but neither of them cared about that and with Cappie still feeling that he loved her, it upset him that after a trying time he was still with the boys and not with his girlfriend. So, planning to correct that, he went up to his room to change his shirt and check his hair, smirking when he opened the door and Taylor stood up.

"When did you get in here?" Cappie asked her.

Taylor shrugged a little, a smile on her face. "Fifteen minutes ago maybe? Anything in particular that you need before you rejoin the boys?"

"I was actually ditching them to go out and try to find you." Cappie admitted, closing the door behind him and walking over to Taylor. "Why all dressed for bed? I thought you'd be doing homework or talking to Sierra about any family issues you still had. I was going to buy you coffee and everything—let you talk about how frustrating the men in your family were."

"Due to contrary belief," Taylor explained, looking up at Cappie as she took off her robe to reveal her tank top and her girl boxers, "I _can_ multi-task. Yes, I'm mad at my dad and my older brother is being a snob and thinks he's better than everyone else just because he's in Omega Chi, but I got you, don't I? First thing you did when I looked sad was hug me and ask me if I needed to talk and I'm kind of done being upset right now. Right now, I just want to focus on you and me…think you can help me with that?"

Cappie smirked and his eyes twinkled. "You've come to the right place—I'm a master of distraction."

"You're apparently just the perfect boyfriend." Taylor said with a smile on her face, shrugging her shoulders playfully.

"I'm offended that you would think otherwise." Cappie replied, but soon his playfully astonished face supported only a grin and it made Taylor genuinely smile.

Cappie kissed her softly, chuckling when she deepened the kiss, happily bearing the brunt of her weight as she hopped up onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist. He held her to him, kissing her a little harder, remembering as he laid her on his bed, the first time that Taylor had made a move on him.

"_Taylor what are you doing here?" Cappie asked her as he opened up the door of the house to her, letting her cross the threshold—not that he had much choice in the matter, she seemed rather determined._

_Taylor took a deep breath and glanced around the living room area of the house, the boys playing video games and teasing and joking with each other. When she pointed up to his room Cappie just nodded—by that point the two of them were friends, and he thought that maybe this was a private conversation involving Rusty. Rusty was, after all, her best friend here and part of his house so it was the most logical assumption._

"_I'm rather attracted to you in a very sexual way," Taylor admitted to Cappie the moment he had shut his bedroom door behind them._

_Cappie did a double take before saying, "I've found that quite a few people are."_

"_Such a 'Cappie' response," Taylor said with a soft laugh, Cappie feeling suddenly like things were falling into place._

_With Cappie and Taylor, things had never been the way that they had been with their other friends and they both knew it. There had always been excess teasing and lots of flirting, and when they cuddled, they both knew that they felt a deeper spark. So when Taylor was admitting her attraction, Cappie couldn't contain the smile that broke out across his face. Taylor was smiling too, and then suddenly she just shrugged her shoulders and kept right on talking._

"_I'm not here to tell you that I want to throw you on your bed and ravish you, however," Taylor told him, looking him in the eye. "I mean maybe I do want to do that a little bit, but mostly I just want to be your girlfriend. I want to show you that there are girls out there that like people for who they are—that accept people and don't try to change them. I want to be able to show you my affection daily…and nightly…so if you'll let me, I think that you should allow me the honor of taking you out tonight."_

_Cappie smiled and crossed to her, cupping her face with his hand and looking her in the eye. "Only if you'll do me the honor of staying in first, and then we can get dinner after."_

"_If that wasn't what I wanted to do, I'd be shoving you towards the door, Cap." Taylor told him with a laugh, kissing him, letting the feeling of his lips crashing against hers sink in before she pouted a little when he pulled away._

"_You and I are going to have to work on your compromising skills, Tay," Cappie responded before he kissed her again._

_The two of them were rather enjoying their first real kisses, and as Taylor moved for Cappie's belt, they both knew what was coming next and they both wanted it. They would end up at dinner because they both wanted that as well, but for right then it was about their carnal urges and their desperate need to physically show the other person their affection. It was the first time that either of them felt something like that during sex, and it wouldn't be the last time…but it would only happen when they were together._

"You know that I wouldn't change you, right?" Taylor asked him as they lay there afterwards, Cappie stroking her hair and kissing her temple.

Cappie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know that—where is that coming from though?"

"That was just…more caring than normal," Taylor pointed out, referring to how he'd handled her. "I want you the way that you are and if you decide to change, I want it to be _your_ choice…not anyone else's."

"Tay," Cappie said, capturing her chin with his fingers and then kissing her gently and looking her in the eye. "You and me? Nothing's scaring me away."

Taylor smiled and nodded, kissing Cappie again and then laughing when the door to his room opened and Beaver and Wade stood there. They hadn't realized that Taylor had snuck in and that was why Cappie was taking so long coming back down, but it was a good thing that she was covered by the sheets and the blanket on the bed.

"Howdy, boys," Taylor said, giving them a salute with one hand and holding the blanket to her with the other. "You can take him if you want, I've monopolized as much of his time as I need to, maybe not as much as I _want_ to, but I'm flexible."

Wade nodded slowly. "We're sorry to interrupt."

"Since when do you guys even just walk into my room?" Cappie asked them as they started to leave. "Always assume that Taylor is in here!"

Taylor laughed loudly as Wade and Beaver shut the door behind them, making a joke about how everyone was just going to wander in and out of his room now because they were going to assume she was naked, Cappie tickling her to make her stop, and then kissing her gently, snuggling her into silence for a little while.

xx

Sierra smiled as Evan lavaliered her, holding her blonde hair up as he fastened the letters around her neck, careful of the chain. The two of them had been told by a few people that they were moving far too fast, but Sierra knew that this—that Evan—was what she wanted, and she was not to be deterred. Evan kissed her merrily when she went in for the kill, pressing her lips to his in her happiness, wrapping his arms around her as she let her hair drop back onto her shoulders.

Evan's fingers slid into Sierra's hair, Sierra letting out a soft pleased sound as he gently took her bottom lip between his teeth and nipped playfully. The two of them were no strangers to the bedroom, however, they also weren't as frequent to do such things with and to each other as Cappie and Taylor. Still, it seemed like a moment where the two of them were on the same page with this—it was a moment that needed to be celebrated by them both being naked and entwined.

"I love you, Evan." Sierra whispered, pulling her shirt off over her head as Evan started working on getting his off as well.

Evan smiled and paused a moment, stroking her face with his thumb and looking her in the eyes. "I love you too, Sierra. You and me against all the odds."

"Always," Sierra whispered affectionately, kissing him gently. "Pants off, Evan."

Evan chuckled, complying and kissing Sierra with a passion and affection that he'd never shown anyone. He remembered how they had really been introduced as he rested his hands on her hips, nipping at her neck and her ear, listening to her gentle moans. There were few things that made Evan Chambers as happy as this, but Sierra was right at the top of that list of things.

"_You have been staring at him for ages now," Taylor told Sierra with a laugh. "My approval or not…ask him out."_

_Sierra gave Taylor a look. "Hey—that is not how it should be done."_

"_This is the 21__st__ Century," Taylor responded with a shrug._

"_Tell Cappie you need him."_

"_This isn't about me."_

"_This is just as much about you as it is about me."_

_Taylor gave Sierra a look when she said that because while she and Cappie were happy right now, she didn't want to rush a thing. She had ruined so many of her relationships in the past and right now she didn't want to hurt what she and Cappie had going and they had only just gone public with their relationship the day before. They had been worried about so many different things—people, the houses, their pasts—and now they were in a good place and Sierra was trying to make her jump the gun._

"_You and Evan have been eying each other in passing since we showed up at this school," Taylor reminded her. "Just go already. Evan!"_

_Sierra shot Taylor a look, but she smiled in Evan's direction and waved when he turned and gave a look of pure confusion. Taylor had never seemed the least bit interested in talking to him and Sierra always seemed to turn and run in the opposite direction whenever he was close to her…but she was Lucas' little sister so he had to see what it was that she wanted. So, dismissing his fellow Omega Chi brother, he walked over to their table in Dobbler's and he smiled._

"_What can I do for you?" Evan asked them._

_Taylor smiled. "You can take my place and chat up my friend because it's time you both stop eying each other and actually talked."_

"_She thinks she's a matchmaker," Sierra said quickly, rolling her eyes playfully, but thanking Taylor for what she was doing with her eyes._

"_What can I say? I think I'm gifted," Taylor responded as she got up to leave. "She's all yours—bring her back in one piece please, Chambers."_

_Evan smiled at her as she left and then looked at Sierra. "How often does she make a good match."_

"_She hasn't failed yet…"_

As that night had wore on, Evan and Sierra realized just how comfortable with each other they were and everything after that had simply been a chain reaction of that moment. In fact, there were times that Evan wished they'd been introduced sooner because Sierra was nothing like Casey and he felt like there was so much time wasted where he was trying to chase Casey Cartwright, that he could have used getting to know Sierra. There were so many moments where he just wanted to be with her and she felt the same way.

"Stay tonight?" Sierra asked him as he laid her down, positioned between her legs.

He smiled and kissed his lips affectionately. "Always…"

"I love you Evan Chambers…"

"I love you too Sierra Hughes…"

xx

Taylor was more than excited to hang out with Calvin and Rusty that night, though leaving Cappie was always hard for her and she was pretty sure she knew why—she loved him. She had been falling for him hard for a long time now, but it was obvious to her that she was in over her head when all she did was think about him and try to see him and while she could get her work done, she was always getting it done so she had more time to spend with him. She knew she had it bad…everyone did.

"You look kind of in need of a drink," Calvin said laughing. "You are glowing."

Rusty smiled at her. "She spent all afternoon with Cap—of course she is."

"Oh, well, then," Calvin said as Taylor rolled her eyes.

"You two are just so hilarious," Taylor told them playfully.

Rusty shrugged a bit. "And you're in love."

Taylor gave Rusty a look, but the looks that she got back from them made her just sigh because they had been in this exact place when she had talked to them about how she had feelings for Cappie, but he wasn't returning them. There had been a huge bout of drama with Rebecca and Casey and after Rebecca, Taylor had tried to keep her distance, but she really couldn't help it—she liked him. So, she decided she was going to date someone else from Kappa Tau—a guy in Rusty's pledge group.

_"So you're going to go out with him?" Rusty asked Taylor that night at Dobbler's._

_She shrugged. "Why not? He's sweet, he's funny…and maybe not the sharpest tool in the shed, but at least I have fun with him."_

_Rusty nodded. "Yeah, but…I mean do you really want to date just to get your mind off of Cappie?"_

_"You make it sound like I'm using him." Taylor said with a frown. "I guess I kind of would be…except that I like flirting with him."_

_"Well even though I don't think you need a boyfriend to find the college experience you want to find, I think you should go for it. Cappie's in a state of rebound and you won't fight for him, so you might as well take your second choice." Rusty told her with a shrug before he sipped his drink._

_Taylor gave him a look. "You totally know how to make a girl feel better, Rus—no wonder you're so sought after."_

_"Ha, ha." Rusty replied as Calvin came over to the table too. "Don't we have venom, tonight?"_

_"I think I've been hanging around Rebecca too much." She told him honestly._

_That made Calvin laugh a bit and he took a seat, Rusty getting him up to speed with the events and he nodded, siding with Rusty. He thought that Cappie and Taylor would make the perfect couple, but if she wasn't going to make a move, then she needed to move on and if this was how she was going to do it, then so be it. Either Cappie would come around or he wouldn't, but they couldn't make something work if neither of them were willing to fight for each other and work for it._

_Calvin rested his hand on Taylor's. "He may be in a state of rebounding, like Rus said, but we all know you two like each other."_

"_It's incredibly obvious," Rusty agreed with a nod._

"_So," Taylor began, looking at them both, "you think I should just go for it?"_

_Calvin shrugged a bit. "It doesn't hurt to try does it?"_

Taylor had had to admit to herself that it didn't and so she came to a compromise about the situation: she had gotten closer to Cappie and then gone to him that fateful day. Their friendship had always been important to her and Cappie was jealous of the attention she was paying to Rusty's pledge member and he had taken things out on him a bit, Taylor knowing it was time. They had feelings for each other and ever since making it official, they had been showing each other more and more just how much they cared about each other and each other's well being.

Perhaps Sierra was right: sometimes you just knew.

"I've never been good at these things," Taylor admitted, shaking her head. "I mean…the relationship gets to this point and then it gets screwed up."

Rusty took her hand in his. "Yeah, but we all have faith that you guys are going to make it. You're in it for the long…haul…"

"Wow, that sounded convincing." Taylor teased, but she was worried at the look on Rusty's face.

"Don't look now, but it looks like Cap showed up," Calvin said, following Rusty's gaze and while Taylor's face lit up, Calvin sighed, "and it looks like Casey is flirting with him."

Taylor felt a pang in her chest and swallowed, turning in her chair to see Casey definitely hitting on Cappie and it made her blood boil. As far as Taylor had been concerned, Casey had had her chance already and while it looked like she was drunk, Cappie was ever chivalrous and was now leading her out of Dobbler's to help her. She knew how this could end and while she trusted Cappie with her life, she didn't trust Casey Cartwright as far as she could throw her—that was an understatement too.

**Note: I actually feel kind of mean leaving my first chapter in ages off with a cliffhanger like that, but I have the next chapter already half written. So…never fear. It'll go up tonight. ^.^ Feedback is always appreciated!**


	8. Casey Swooping In

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**There had to be some Casey related drama, or it wouldn't be like the show at all, am I right? lol. Anyway, this is the next chapter and I really love the Taylor/Cappie and the Sierra/Evan relationships, so I wanted there to be more to them in this story so you can all love them as much as me.**

**Sorry about not getting a chapter up earlier, I've been sick all day—it started last night, and I wanted to get this up before I went to bed.**

xxxx

Rusty and Calvin didn't really know what to do when they saw Cappie leading Casey out of Dobbler's, but Taylor slowly got up. They figured they better follow her and when she got out to the street, she looked around for them, but didn't see them right off the bat, cursing herself for moving so slow. She was half mad at herself for coming out here in the first place, and half mad at herself for losing them so soon. This was going to come back and kick her in the ass, she knew that, but Casey drunk was a bad idea.

"Is she having a bad time with Max?" Taylor asked Rusty, aware the two boys had followed her. "Because even if she is, I will punch your sister out for touching my boyfriend…and I will make it hurt in the morning.

Rusty took a deep breath. "Yeah, they had a little fight, but I thought that they got over it already."

"Apparently not because she's drinking," Taylor told him and then turned to him. "Unless she was just having some good old fashioned Greek fun."

"At this point, I just think it would be a good idea to find the two and figure out what's going on—Casey gets needy when she's drunk." Rusty said with a heavy sigh.

As Taylor nodded, Cappie was escorting Casey around because she'd wanted to get some air and wouldn't let him take her back to the ZBZ House. He'd only gone into Dobbler's to spend some time with Taylor, Rusty and Calvin, but Casey had made a bee line for him in her stupor. She was having some issues and the moment she saw Cappie, she felt like maybe she could get a little bit of her past back.

"It was supposed to be you, you know," Casey told him.

Cappie watched her try to keep her balance walking the edge of the sidewalk and raised his eyebrows at her. He wasn't sure if she as actually talking to him or just drunkenly talking to him and while there was certainly a chance that it was both, he had to make completely sure. So he paused a moment and then she looked at him and repeated herself and he knew that it was time to respond with something.

"What do you mean?" Cappie asked her.

Casey waved her arms about. "It was supposed to be you and me, Cappie. We were supposed to have it all figured out. You were supposed to be more interested in me and our future, than in your House and your college experience."

"You left me for Evan and now you have Max—talk to them about futures," Cappie told her, but part of what she had said stung a bit. "The fact that we're apart kind of makes you wonder if we were just two ships passing in the night, doesn't it?"

"We don't have to be those ships!" Casey said, making her way to him. "We still have time to fix what we've done wrong."

"You're drunk."

"I am not that drunk."

Cappie gave her a look and then took her by the arms, turning her to face the direction of the ZBZ House. He was going to take her back there and tuck her in and leave and find Taylor because right now he was feeling kind of down on himself and he wanted to discuss it with the girl he wanted to be with. For a long time that girl had been Casey and he had just wanted her to be his future, but right now that was Taylor—Taylor, the girl that always treated him right and liked him as is.

"I'm taking you home," Cappie told Casey resolutely.

Casey made a face, and reached out for Cappie's face. "Cap…"

Before he knew what was happening, Casey kissed him, Cappie pushing her off when he registered what was going on and shaking his head—no.

"Don't do that, Case," Cappie said shaking his head.

Casey looked sad and while that pained him, he wasn't that guy. "You don't even want to try, Cap?"

"I want to get you back to ZBZ," Cappie told her gently. "Please, let's just go."

"Fine," Casey said, angry now. "Just take me back."

xx

"I have it on good authority that Cappie and Casey kissed last night," Ashleigh told Sierra the next morning. "It was all she could talk about all night."

Sierra frowned, poking at her cereal with her spoon. "Something tells me that this isn't going to end well…"

"I'm just warning you because even though Casey's my best friend, Taylor is my Little Sister and my friend and she's happy, you know?" Ashleigh asked her. "I just don't know what to do and you know Taylor best."

"I'll handle it," Sierra told her.

Ashleigh nodded, worried about what would happen here as she was used to there being drama in the house and especially where Cappie was concerned. People in the House either liked him or they didn't and for a long time Casey had made it clear that no one in the House was allowed to date Cappie and then Rebecca did and that whole thing was a disaster. It had taken everyone a while to get used to Cappie and Taylor dating and for a while they had kept it a secret from everyone.

_"I don't know how Cap and I are going to do this." Taylor told Rusty one day as they both studied on what they had deemed their bench._

_Actually, to be quite honest, Rusty was studying—Taylor was contemplating. Cappie and Taylor had gotten together eight days prior when she had confronted him about the attraction and Rusty was the only one to know other than Cappie and Sierra. It seemed too soon to tell anyone else given the state of the House and all of the drama that had been going on surrounding Cappie in the first place._

_"I don't see why you dating Cappie is such a big deal—I think the idea of you two together is kind of adorable." Rusty said with a shrug._

_"You don't understand, Rus—Rebecca is moping around the house about him, Casey though not in love with him, doesn't want anyone in the house to date him, and how am I supposed to tell Lucas that I'm dating the president of his rival fraternity? Come on, Rus—not everyone is going to be as happy about it as I am." Taylor said with a sigh._

_"I don't know why you have to turn college into High School." Rusty told her._

_Taylor looked at him—he was right. This was college—so what if the other people were acting childish? That didn't mean that Cappie and Taylor had to act childish too. She nodded as Rusty kept looking over his notes, tapping his pen on the notebook page nervously, and smiled when Cappie showed up and sat down next to her. He looked at her, and she winked at him, making him chuckle…God he was sexy when he chuckled._

_"You know this isn't High School, Cap—you can put your arm around her if you want to." Rusty told him without looking away from his page._

_"I have no idea what you're talking about, Rus—I just have exceptionally bad body odor today and would rather have not embarrassed myself, but you dragged it out of me." Cappie replied._

_Taylor laughed as she wrote a couple more notes in the margin of her class notes. "It's okay, Cap—I don't think we should care about what everyone else thinks."_

_"In that case…" Cappie told her, and put his fingers under her chin._

_Taylor looked up from her notes and looked at him, giggling a little and kissing him back as he kissed her. He tasted like cinnamon and coffee that day, and she loved it. She set the pen down on the notebook on her lap, and stroked his hair. His lips were a little chapped but they were dominate and he was happy, Taylor groaning in protest when he nibbled her bottom lip and pulled away, standing up._

_"That was what I call a proper good morning. So…I am off, I will see you tonight." He said with a grin on his face._

_Taylor rolled her eyes. "Go get 'em, Boyfriend."_

_Cappie smiled at the sound of it and headed off, Rusty rolling his eyes. Taylor was really excited to have Cappie as her boyfriend, but at the same time she still felt weird about it in terms of everyone else. She wasn't quite ready to put the whole house at odds and get on Rebecca's and Casey's bad sides, but this was about her, right? Wasn't she allowed to be happy too?_

Ashleigh sighed as Sierra's phone went off. "This is going to be a land mine."

"Thanks for telling me, Ash," Sierra said smiling. "I might not even have to tell her though."

"What makes you say that?" Ashleigh asked her.

Sierra turned the phone to show Ashleigh the text from Taylor. "Because she's with Cappie right now—maybe he'll tell her.

"Maybe," Ashleigh mused, nodding a little bit and then stopping. "But what if he doesn't?"

xx

Cappie had been acting pretty weird the night before and Taylor was determined to find out what was going on. She hadn't been able to sleep very well because she had a feeling that something happened and this was it, only because Cappie's behavior was really making her worried about everything. They were in such a good place and she had finally admitted that she really was in love with him and now this—now Casey swooping in and ruining _everything_.

Who the Hell did she think she was?

Contrary to popular belief, the world did not revolve around Casey Cartwright and while she knew it didn't do her any good to hate the girl, right now Taylor did. Anyone who tried to get in the way of her and Cappie was worth hating and Taylor kind of wanted to confront the blonde and get it all out there. Even the Kappa Tau House seemed a bit ominous when Taylor walked in and she knew that couldn't be a good sign and so she went straight up the stairs to Cappie's room. She didn't even bother knocking on the door, she just went straight on in and Cappie looked up at her from his position on his bed and gave her a weak smile.

Something was definitely wrong and so Taylor closed the door behind her, Cappie just sitting there on his bed with his book. He had been thinking about what Casey had said and was trying really hard to figure out what kind of man he wanted to be right now and then Taylor had come in and all of this guilt filled him up even though he'd done the right thing and pushed Casey off. The kiss still happened and he needed to tell Taylor about it, but he didn't exactly know how to say it.

"I keep feeling like something bad is happening," Taylor admitted, sitting on the side of his bed and looking at him.

Cappie nodded and closed his text book. "You can say that again."

"Once was enough," Taylor teased a little bit, smiling and then sighing. "So…what's going on?"

"I'm not good enough for you," Cappie told her honestly, not skipping a beat.

Taylor opened her mouth, shut it and then opened it again. "I don't think you have any idea how hurt I am by that."

"Well yeah, I'm beneath you," Cappie teased, but Taylor looked serious.

"Cap…I'm hurt that you'd think you weren't good enough for me. You're perfect for me," Taylor clarified.

"You might not feel that way in a moment or two," he responded.

While she had no idea what that meant, Taylor felt a pang in her chest again because for a second she felt like what he was going to say would break her. At the same time, more of her just felt like he was feeling insecure and she needed to let him know that she loved him just the way he was and wouldn't want him any other way. Right now though, Taylor took the moment to just be silent and let Cappie say what it was that he was going to say and he did…he couldn't lie to her when she meant so much to him.

"Casey kissed me last night," Cappie admitted, watching Taylor's expressions change. "She went off about how I was supposed to change for her and be what she wanted and then she kissed me when I told her I wasn't that guy."

Taylor nodded slowly taking it all in and she was definitely feeling some anger and while she felt hurt, she felt like _Casey _had betrayed her and _not_ Cappie. Cappie was at least telling her what had happened and made her understand that nothing was going on for him feeling-wise and she believed him. She had no reason not to believe him and she knew that she was going to have to get past this, but she was so mad at Casey right now that she couldn't entirely think straight.

"Why does she always think that she can just run back to you?" Taylor asked angrily, Cappie watching her get more and more upset. "She had her chance and she blew it and she kept making you feel like crap and now she has Max and suddenly she thinks you guys were just written in the stars or something? Does an alarm go off in her head every time you're happy with someone else?"

Cappie smiled a little and kissed her. "Maybe, which while flattering, has nothing to do with us."

"She kind of has a lot to do with both of us," Taylor protested, smiling a little when Cappie shrugged and kissed her nose affectionately.

"Yeah, but I don't love _her_," Cappie responded, kissing Taylor's lips tenderly. "I could care less whether or not she thinks we're meant to be and I was supposed to change for her."

"What pisses me off most about it is she thinks you have to change to be 'good enough for her'."

"She never said that exactly."

"That's what she meant and it's not true—you are perfect just the way you are, Cap. I really wouldn't have you any other way."

Cappie's stomach did flip flops when he heard that and he grinned from ear to ear, kissing Taylor, which made her smile too. All she wanted to do was make him happy and she wondered for a moment if he felt the same way about her that she did about him, but she was far too afraid to ask. She let Cappie pull her onto his lap though, kissing him deeply as he held her close to him and then after a little bit they just snuggled on his bed, kissing occasionally and enjoying each other's company.

"How up to coming over after the mixer tonight are you?" Cappie asked Taylor, wanting to do something special for her.

Taylor smiled, the same idea almost in her head. "Actually, what would you say to sleeping over at my place for once?"

**Note: There is a twist in the next one, a new character, a confrontation and s secret that's revealed. Feedback is always appreciated!**


	9. Protecting Taylor

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**There will be a secret revealed, three confrontations instead of one, and the twist will come later. I wanted to add more to the story and I think this major storyline is solid, IC, and I really like it, so I hope you guys will too.**

xxxx

While it wasn't the best idea to be bringing Cappie to the House right now especially with all of the new Casey drama, Taylor was determined. The mixer tonight was an Omega Chi/ZBZ mixer and she knew that Sierra would be staying over with Evan when it was over and Taylor didn't have classes the next day, so she could pick and choose the moment to sneak Cappie back out. She just wanted to spend time with Cappie and maybe work up the courage to tell him that she loved him.

Cappie was trying to work up the courage to do the same thing because both of them were afraid it was too soon. At the same time they felt it and Cappie was trying to figure out what tonight would bring for him when Rusty rapped his knuckles on his door. Cappie turned and smiled at him, motioning for him to come on in because it was a good day and it looked like it was going to be a good night.

"Spitter, what brings you here?" Cappie asked him.

Rusty took a deep breath. "Is there something going on between you and Casey?"

"Oh, you're here to protect her honor?" Cappie nodded, giving Rusty his full attention. "I guarantee you that I want Taylor. I was in love with your sister once, Spitter, but Taylor is everything I could have ever hoped for. She's perfect…I would never willingly hurt her, and I want you to know that."

Rusty smiled a little at that because while he loved his sister very much, he loved who Cappie was when he was with Taylor, and vice versa. They brought the best out of each other and while they were perfect on their own, they were fantastic together and Rusty wanted them to make it through. Besides, he knew that Taylor was in love and he didn't want her to get her heart broken here…and then there was that look on Cappie's face.

That look that Rusty knew well: love.

He had seen the same twinkle in Taylor's eyes the night before at Dobbler's and now he knew for certain that Cappie and Taylor were in love with each other. Taylor was like his other sister and Cappie had been like a brother and a mentor to Rusty since Rusty had gotten to Cyprus Rhodes and joined the KT House and right now he felt like it was his duty to protect their relationship. He cared so much about them and it brought a giant smile to his face as he watched Cappie chuckle just thinking about her.

"You're in love with her," Rusty said smiling.

Cappie scoffed. "I am not in love with Casey."

"No, Cap, Taylor…you're in love with Taylor." Rusty clarified since Cappie hadn't been looking at him.

"Spitter…"

Cappie had to admit that he was though, and he took a deep breath before he grabbed his small duffle and looked at Rusty. He wasn't sure that he should admit such a thing out loud, especially to Taylor's best friend because he would just tell her, right? Then again, Cappie trusted Rusty and so he wanted to get it out of his chest and hear the words out loud to see if that was even what he was truly feeling.

"I love her, okay?" Cappie asked him, feeling how right the words sounded coming out of his mouth. "Just let _me_ be the one to tell her that."

Rusty nodded and smiled. "Of course I will."

"Good," Cappie responded, setting the duffle down and walking up to Rusty, putting his arm around him. "Now let's go play some beer pong with the others and have some fun before I head over to the ZBZ House…I've never slept over there, did you know that?"

"No, I didn't," Rusty admitted as Casey went looking for Taylor.

She knew that Taylor wanted to call it quits early that night, but also wanted to mingle and didn't have the heart to tell her she couldn't—everyone knew something was up between Lucas and Taylor. It wasn't hard to see that the two were fighting and family feuds shouldn't get in the way of the rest of the house having fun…and neither should the kiss between Casey and Cappie. Casey wanted Taylor to hear it from her, unaware that Ashley had told Sierra.

"Taylor?" Casey asked, rapping her knuckles on the door.

Both Taylor and Sierra looked up from choosing shoes for the night and raised their eyebrows, telling her to come on in. Well, Sierra did. Taylor didn't want to have anything to do with Casey right then and had half the mind to tell the young woman to shove it where the sun didn't shine. Still, this was only the beginning of her second year at Cyprus Rhodes and she didn't want to spoil anything when school had only just begun. At the same time, Casey had practically declared war…

Casey smiled a little bit sheepishly and Sierra and Taylor both had a feeling that they knew exactly what was coming and didn't quite know what to say about it. Sierra had a feeling Casey didn't want her there either, and got up to go and see what Ashleigh was going to wear to the mixer, leaving Taylor and Casey alone. Sensing that Casey wanted to talk to her about the kiss, Taylor decided to see if Casey would actually tell her what happened, and sat on her bed innocently like she was waiting for something instead of just verbally letting her have it.

"Looks like you're all ready for tonight…" Casey began, making a bit of small talk.

Taylor nodded slowly. "Yeah…a little time at the mixer and then some time on my own."

Something told Taylor not to tell Casey about Cappie coming over that night to spend the night, and so she had worded it that way. She didn't want anything to get in the way of it and she hoped that after this, Casey would respect the distance because Taylor felt uneasy about her. At the same time, Taylor didn't think that Cappie would take to kindly to the rivalry because he still considered Casey to be a friend and Taylor was going to have to make peace with that.

It had honestly been easier for Taylor to accept _before_ Casey had made a move on Cappie, and she sighed a little when Casey nodded and sat down. Seemed like this conversation was far from over and she didn't know if she should say something to Casey or not. Casey would come clean or she won't and if she didn't…then Taylor would be more upset than she was right then. Taylor felt like Casey was trying to cut in on her territory and that didn't settle in with her well at all.

Taylor loved Cappie.

The thought of losing him—and to Casey of _all_ people—made Taylor's insides crawl to be honest. She had always thought that Casey pushing Cappie to change was wrong and that it should happen on his own time _if_ he wanted to change at all. It wasn't really love if you had to change the other person in order to be with them because in reality that wasn't how it worked…they had to choose to change themselves. Every time Casey thought she could, she tried to run back to Cappie, but not this time.

"I have something to tell you," Casey began, taking a deep breath. "I still have feelings for Cappie."

Taylor stopped in her tracks and sat on her bed suddenly. "I'm sorry…what did you just say? I'm pretty sure I heard you wrong just now."

"This is hard for me to say out loud," Casey told Taylor nodding.

"Clearly it's not hard enough!" Taylor exclaimed, angry now.

"Just let me finish!" Casey responded, standing up and looking directly at Taylor. "I will always have feelings for Cappie and to be fair, when he and I kissed last night I thought that I wanted him back and maybe part of me does, but I'm with Max. I love Max. I just wanted you to know where I stand here because if something happens—"

"—do you even hear yourself when you speak?!" Taylor asked Casey, getting up and walking to the door in her room. "I mean do you honestly hear what you're saying?"

Casey took a deep breath because she knew that Taylor wasn't going to take it well, but she hadn't thought that she would be _this_ upset. She was trying to tell her that she _wasn't_ taking Cappie away, but trying to be honest about having feelings for him. Right now she felt like she was doing the right thing and Taylor was flipping out and maybe her words had been badly worded…she wasn't trying to make Taylor mad. Then again…maybe she was upset because Cappie hadn't told her about the kiss.

"If Cappie hasn't—"

"—of course Cappie already told me, Casey!"

Taylor shot her a look and Casey closed her mouth because she felt like she was just going to make it that much worse. Right now Taylor wanted to rant and Casey was going to let her do it because if the situation was reversed, Casey would want to just be mad as well. Cappie was with _Taylor_, and Casey had to respect that whether she wanted to or not…this was not where she belonged anymore. She had chosen Max and she loved Max, she just also still had feelings for Cappie and they were probably just feelings of first love, but still.

"Cappie and I trust each other, Case," Taylor told her heatedly. "The first thing he did was tell me and then he assured me that I was the one that he wanted and yeah, maybe you never get over your first love, but he and I have each other and we're a good match! I love him!"

Casey and Taylor were both a bit caught off guard by her sudden exclamation, but they sat there for a moment and nodded slowly. Taylor had just told someone other than Cappie that she loved him and it was Casey of all people and she wanted to suck it back in…and yet she didn't. She kind of felt relieved saying it out loud and she wanted to yell it to everyone—but did Cappie feel the same way?

"I'm happy for both of you," Casey told her hurriedly, heading out of the room.

She needed some air and Taylor got that, knowing that it had to be hard for Casey and feeling a bit bad for how that had all went. After all, both of Casey's ex boyfriends had moved on and were in love with her fellow ZBZ sisters and maybe…maybe Casey should have been a bit more understanding about it all. You never got over your first love and at least she had told her, but parts of how it happened still urked Taylor.

"Just have a good time tonight, Taylor," she whispered to herself, shaking her head.

xx

"So how close is he to actually proposing?" Taylor asked Sierra that night.

They had gotten all dressed up and gone to the mixer, Taylor ducking out soon to meet up with Cappie at the ZBZ house, having grabbed his duffle earlier and sneaking it in. Sierra was spending the night with Evan after the party and Taylor and Cappie then had the room all to themselves and as long as they didn't alert anyone else, it would all go off without a hitch. Right now, though, Taylor was feeling a bit behind because Evan was already on the track to making Sierra his wife and yet she and Cappie had gotten together first and hadn't even exchanged an 'I love you' yet.

Did that mean they were doomed?

She didn't want to think like that, but part of her felt like she and Cappie were so guarded that it was hindering them…or maybe them moving slow was good and Evan and Sierra moving so fast was bad. Taylor didn't know—all she knew was that right now Sierra seemed ecstatic and she and Evan couldn't stop looking at each other from across the room and beaming. Either it was good sex, a really fantastic romance or both.

"Sierra…" Taylor said again.

Sierra snapped back into focus and looked at Taylor. "I'm sorry—he just looks so cute tonight. Um…he and I have already decided that if he does end up proposing, we're not getting married until we both have solid jobs, so it'll be a couple years of an engagement."

"Might be fun to get to wear a rock on your finger for three years," Taylor mused with a nod, thinking it over. "Plus, it means he's showing you a giant commitment."

"What about you and Cappie?" Sierra asked, shaking her head and laughing at the look on Taylor's face. "I don't mean right now, I just…have you ever thought about it?"

"About marrying Cappie?" Taylor asked her, shaking her head slowly. "No, not really, I mean he doesn't even have a set major and we haven't been dating very long. I love him just the way he is, so don't take this the wrong way, it just seems like we're not graduated and he's still figuring out his solo future. Rusty and I still have a lot of the same classes, but I'm set on this medical school road and Cappie has to figure things out. Besides, it hasn't been very long…I haven't even told him that I loved him. I'm too young to get married."

Sierra smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to think about these things."

Taylor didn't know what to say about that so she just nodded slowly and changed the subject pretty quickly. She didn't want to move too fast here and so she just decided to have a little bit of fun and decided to call it a night and went back to the ZBZ House, sneaking past Casey and Ashleigh. They'd find out sooner or later that something was going on and right now, Taylor wanted to have some sort of head start back.

When she got there, she smiled at Cappie showing up with his hands in his jeans pocket, but he smiled at her about the same time that Rusty called Casey. He couldn't just sit there and let all of this happen because Taylor meant a lot to him too and he wanted her to be happy. Just because Casey couldn't figure out what she wanted, didn't mean that Taylor couldn't—she and Cappie were in love. In Rusty's book, that meant more to him than what Casey might think that she wanted right now.

So, he had dialed up his sister and Casey had sighed when she saw that it was her brother calling, leaving the party momentarily. She figured there was a chance that it might be important and so she found a quieter place to take the call and answered—he was her brother after all. If he needed her for something then she had to see if she had the time to follow through with it and help him out.

"What's up, Rus?" Casey asked him.

Rusty took a deep breath. "I want you to stay out of Tay's and Cap's relationship, Case. They both mean a lot to me and they love each other…so let them be."

"You seriously called me to stand up for Taylor?" Casey asked her brother incredulously.

It was one thing to stand up for his best friend because she _knew_ how close Taylor and Rusty were, but it was quite enough to do this. To be against her. Perhaps that wasn't exactly what this was, but Casey was feeling as though her brother was putting Taylor's happiness above his own sister's and that made her rather upset. So she made a face as Rusty set in on explaining things to her, her mind already made up so she was really only half listening to him.

"Case, you're my sister and I love you, but Tay is like my sister too and she's important to me. She's going through a lot right now and she just needs Cappie and I need you to not go around kissing him anymore, alright? You have a boyfriend—Max is great! I love Max!" Rusty told her enthusiastically. "I think that you two are a great fit, just like I think that Cappie and Taylor are, so…could you please just butt out?"

Casey nodded slowly. "You know what, Rus? If Cap and Taylor make it through they make it through and if they don't, they don't. You can't force a relationship."

"Cap and Tay are anything but forced, Casey." Rusty responding, using his sister's full name to show her that he was getting upset.

"Everything happens for a reason, Rusty," Casey replied, using his full name too. "Goodnight, Rusty."

Rusty tried to say something else but Casey hung up on him and he suddenly felt a little sick to his stomach. When Casey wanted something, she went for it, and he had a feeling that something bad was going to happen—drama bad anyway because Casey seemed to suddenly want Cappie again. At that moment, Cappie was kissing Taylor as she led him into her room, having explained to him as they went down the hallway that Sierra was staying with Evan after the mixer. He still didn't understand that relationship, but he knew that Evan had redeemable qualities and if Sierra was the one to bring them out and turn him around, then so be it, Cappie was happy for them.

"So…I have you to myself?" Cappie asked her slowly.

Taylor smiled and beamed, wiggling her eyebrows. "All night and all morning tomorrow…"

"Then let's make it count," Cappie replied, crashing his lips into hers.

**Note: Next chapter will be longer with some sex, some drama and a budding new story line. Feedback is always appreciated!**


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